THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


^^y^i^l 


S^^^^if^Sf 


J,C.  McRao. 


15  ¥  Cd  (H  M  01  [M  c'S 

NEWHAVEN,  CONN, 


HISTORY 


iflutlj  ©uugrEgatifliial  ®|urc|, 


NE\\^    HAVEN", 


ITS  ORIGIN  IN  1852  TILL  JANUARY  1,  1865. 


BY    GERARD    HALLOCK. 

CLERK  OF   SAID  CHURCH. 


NEW  HATEN. 

PRINTED  BY  TUTTLE,  MOREHOUSE  AND  TAYLOR. 
1865. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Pagres 

Preliminary  History  of  South  Church,         ....  5-18 

CHAPTER  II. 

Ministry  of  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles, 19-50 

CHAPTER  III. 
Ministry  of  Rev.  Mr.  Noyes, 51-70 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Ministry  of  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll,              -         .         .         .         .  71-10'J 

(JHAPTER  V. 

77ie  Ex-parte  Council, .  103-104 

"Result  of  Council."        ---....  104-111 

Reply  of  South  Chureh  to  do., 111-133 

Rejoinder  to  Reply, 133-140 

Remarks  on  the  Rejoinder, 140-16! 

Strictures  on  the  '^Remarks"  by  a  Member  of  the  Council,  161-162 

Reply  to  the  Strictures — Rev.  Dr.  Button  on  Female  Voting.  163-166 

l-lffects  of ^he  Action  of  Council. 166-176 

CH.\PTER   Vr. 

NfM^' Year's  Address  (1864)  to  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll.         -         -  177-183 

Mr.  Carroll's  Reply— Rev.  Mr.  Barrett.         -         .         .  184-185 


2012519 


IV  INDEX. 

Parting  Interview  with  Rev.  Mr.  Barrett.          -         -  -        185-187 

State  and  Progress  of  the  Church,       ...        -  187-204 

South  Church  Finances. 204-206 

Resolutions  concerning  tlie  Bell.            ....  206-207 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Rev.  Mr.  Carroll's  Memorial  Sorraon,        .         -         -  -         209-257 


CATALOGUE. 

Comprising  Pagei 

Confession  of  Faith, 1-3 

Covenant,             4 

Standing  Rules, -  5-7 

Officers  of  Church  and  Society,             9-10 

Chronological  List  of  all  who  are  or  have  been  Members  of 

South  Churcli.             11-2.3 

Alphabetical  List  of  Present  Members,             ....  25-31 

Alphabetical  List  of  Ex-members, 33-41 

Chronological  List  of        do.. 43-46 

Summarv  of  Admissions  and  Dismissions,            -         -         -  47-48 


iM^i^ 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SOUTH  CHURCH 


D 


CHAPTER   1. 


PRELIMINARY  HISTORY. 


Prior  to  the  erection  of  the  South  Church  edifices, 
in  1851  and  1852,  there  was  no  house  of  worship  of 
any  Protestant  denomination,  in  the  south-western 
section  of  the  city.  The  nearest  Protestant  church, 
at  the  date  mentioned,  was  that  in  College  street,  dis- 
tant, by  the  course  of  the  roads,  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  from  the  site  of  the  South  Church.  For 
two  or  three  years,  a  few  individuals  had  been  moot- 
ing- the  question,  whether  it  was  not  i^ossible  to  provide 
a  place  of  worship  for  this  destitute  section,  too  many 
of  whose  inhabitants  excused  themselves  from  attend- 
ing public  worship  on  account  of  distance,  poverty,  and 
other  circumstances,  which  served  to  quiet  their  con- 
sciences and  keep  them  aloof  from  the  means  of  grace. 
True,  there  was  a  small  Sabbath  School  held  in  the 
Mount  Pleasant  School-house  a  part  of  the  time,  and 
occasionally  some  clergyman  from  town,  or  theological 
student,  would  come  over  and  hold  a  meeting  for 
prayer,  or  preach  a  sermon.  The  few  pious  people 
1 


b  PRELIMINARY  HISTORY. 

who  resided  in  the  vicinity,  encouraged  these  efforts, 
and  did  what  they  could  to  promote  them.  But  they 
were  poor,  as  well  as  few  in  number,  and  could  really 
do  nothing,  or  next  to  nothing,  towards  the  erection 
of  a  house  of  worship).  Some  individuals  who  be- 
longed to  churches  in  town,  were  too  much  attached 
to  them  to  be  willing  to  engage  in  any  new  enterprise 
looking  to  a  disruption  of  existing  relations. 

Thus,  in  one  way  or  another,  the  projectors  of  the 
South  Church  enterprise  met  with  discouragement  at 
every  step.  The  first  idea  was,  to  have  a  Mission 
Chapel,  erected  by  subscription,  and  free  to  all.  But 
on  this  basis  there  would  be  no  revenue,  and  a  con- 
stant outlay  would  be  required  to  support  the  minis- 
ter and  defray  other  necessary  expenses. 

Next,  a  small  church  edifice  was  contemplated,  in 
which  the  slips  should  be  rented,  and  thus  the  expense 
of  supporting  the  establishment  be  in  part  defrayed. 
But  this  plan  was  found  to  be  no  more  acceptable 
than  the  other.  A  personal  application  to  all  those 
persons  in  the  vicinity  who  were  deemed  most  likely 
40  be  able  and  willing  to  aid  the  enterprise,  produced 
but  one  subscription,  ($50,)  and  an  offer  on  the  part 
of  a  farmer  to  assist  in  digging  the  cellar.*     These 

*  It  sliould,  perl\aps,  be  mentioned  that  a  lady  offered  to  give  a 
site  for  tiie  cliurch,  not  far  from  the  present  location,  on  condition  tliat 
the  edifice  to  be  erected  on  it,  should  be  used  forever  as  a  Congrega- 
tional church.  This  offer,  generous  as  it  was  in  some  respectj",  tho 
parties  interested  felt  obliged  to  decline,  as  they  could  not  nm  the  risk 
of  losing  their  whole  investment,  in  case  the  church  enterprise,  which 
was  altogether  an  experinitrnt.  should  not  succeed. 


PRELIMINARY  HISTORY,  7 

subscrii^tions  were  afterwards  respectfully  declined, 
and  the  plan  was  adojited  which  was  finally  carried 
into  effect.  It  was  simply  this, — for  the  projectors 
of  the  undertaking  to  take  the  work  into  their  own 
hands,  do  it  at  their  own  expense,  and  hold  the  prop- 
erty in  their  own  right,  until  such  time  as  the  cliurch 
and  society  should  he  able  to  redeem  it.  But  then 
the  question  arose,  how  large  a  building  should  be 
erected, — whether  of  wood,  or  brick,  or  stone, — 
whether  only  large  enough  to  accommodate  such  of 
the  existing  population  as  might  be  expected  to 
attend,  or  having  reference  also  to  prospective  wants. 
If  we  built  a  small  church,  we  should  be  likely  to 
liave  a  small  minister,  small  congregations,  and  a 
small  income.  But  if  we  should  be  prospered  be- 
yond our  hopes,  then  would  come  the  necessity  of  a 
larger  house,  and  we  should  have  to  lengthen  it,  or 
in  some  way  add  to  its  dimensions.  This  would  vio- 
late its  architectural  proportions,  and  otherwise  de- 
fomi  it, — at  the  same  time  increasing  the  expense. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  the  result  of  our  deliberations 
was,  to  build  a  church  of  the  first  class,  whether  as 
to  dimensions,  materials,  architectural  beauty,  or 
other  basis  of  comparison  ;  one  that  should  do  honor, 
not  only  to  the  neighborhood,  but  to  the  city  ;  one 
that  should  be  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  community 
half  a  century  hence.  This  conclusion  was  aided 
and  encouraged  by  the  eminent  architect,  Sidney  M. 
Stone,  to  whom  we  applied  for  a  phin,  and  who  sub- 
sequently took  the  contract  for  building  the  church, 


8  PRELIMINAKY  HISTORY. 

and  became  a  proj^rietor  to  the  extent  of  $1,000. 
The  contract  was  dated  January  25,  1851,  and  called 
for  the  completion  of  the  building  by  the  first  of 
March  in  the  following  year.  With  the  exception  of 
a  lot  of  land  worth  $2,000,  all  the  payments  were  to 
be  made,  and  were  made,  in  cash,  as  the  work  pro- 
ceeded. A  very  eligible  site  had  been  purchased  one 
week  previous,  for  $1,015,  of  Mrs.  Hannah  Tuttle 
and  her  daughters  Lucy  and  Elizabeth,  at  the  corner 
of  Columbus  and  Liberty  streets,  described  in  their 
deed  as  containing  "  ninety  square  rods,  more  or  less." 
It  is  bounded  Northerly  115  feet  6  inches  by  Colum- 
bus street.  Easterly  206  feetby  Liberty  street.  South- 
erly 115  feet  8  inches.  Westerly  203  feet  9  inches. 

The  walls  of  the  church  above  ground  are  of  Port- 
land (Connecticut  Eiver)  stone,  64  feet  front  and 
rear,  by  90  feet  from  outside  to  outside,  and  34  feet 
high  from  top  of  water-table  to  line  of  eaves.  Ke- 
cess  for  pulpit  in  rear  end  of  the  church,  7  feet  by 
22,  and  26  feet  six  inches  high  from  top  of  water- 
table  to  line  of  eaves.  Tower  21  feet  by  21,  and 
87  feet  high  from  top  of  water-table  to  top  of  stone- 
work. From  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  the  top 
of  battlement,  98  feet  6  inches.  As  the  tower  pro- 
jects 10  feet  from  the  main  building,  the  entire 
length  of  the  structure  is  107  feet.  The  audience 
room  is  75  feet  by  59  feet  8  inches  in  the  clear, 
exclusive  of  the  recess  for  puljiit,  and  organ-loft  in 
front.  Tlie  foundation  walls  of  the  tower  are  six 
feet  thick  at  bottom,  and  four  fe-ut  at  top.     Walls 


PRELIMINARY   HISTORY.  9 

of  tower,  above  the  foundation  walls,  2  feet  3  inches 
thick  35  feet  upward,  then  2  feet  thick  27  feet  up- 
ward to  hell-deck,  then  1  foot  and  6  inches  thick  25 
feet  upward  to  top  of  stone- work.  The  foundation 
walls  of  the  building  proper  are  3  feet  G  inches  thick 
at  bottom,  and  2  feet  10  inches  at  top  ;  the  side  and 
front  walls  2  feet  thick  from  top  of  foundation  walls 
to  the  height  of  two  feet  above  the  tops  of  the  win- 
dows ;  then  1  foot  9  inches  thick  to  eaves.  The  rear 
wall,  including  recess,  1  foot  G  inches  thick.  All  the 
interstices  in  the  walls  as  they  were  being  Ijuilt,  were 
tilled  with  soft  mortar  or  cement.  The  mason-work 
was  let  out  by  the  contractor  to  Messrs.  Perkins  & 
Hine  ;  the  wood-work  to  Nicholas  Countryman. 
The  whole  was  done  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the 
parties  interested,  and  unless  destroyed  by  fire  or 
some  other  extraordinary  visitation,  the  building  will 
stand  for  ages. 

Scarcely  had  the  main  edifice  been  opened  for  pub- 
lic worship,  on  the  last  Sabbath  in  June,  1852,  when 
there  was  found  to  be  an  urgent  necessity  for  smaller 
rooms,  suitable  for  conference  and  prayer  meetings, 
and  for  the  Sabbath  School,  which  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  this  church  from  the  Mount  Pleasant  school- 
house.  Accordingly  the  Chapel,  fronting  on  Lib- 
erty street,  directly  in  the  rear  of  the  Church,  was 
projected  and  built  by  day's  work,  57  feet  by  35, 
from  outside  to  outside,  in  the  same  style  and  of  the 
same  kind  of  material  as  the  main  edifice.  Both 
buildings  are  rigidly  plain,   but   the  eftect  is,  to  give 

1- 


10  PRELIMINARY  HISTORY. 

them  an  air  of  dignity  and  permanence,  rather  than 
cheapness  ;  to  please  the  eye  with  beautiful  propor- 
tions and  a  simplicity  that  never  tires,  rather  than 
tickle  it  with  ornament  for  a  time,  to  be  disgusted  in 
the  end.  A  single  enclosure  embraces  both  build- 
ins:s, — the  fence  on  both  streets  being  a  substantial 
cast-iron  railing,  resting  upon,  or  rather  entered  into, 
a  massive  dressed-stone  coping,  of  the  same  material 
as  the  walls  of  the  buildings.  The  entire  lower  floor 
of  the  Chapel,  excej)t  the  vestibule,  is  fitted  up  as  an 
"Audience  Room,  being  provided  with  a  pulpit  and 
slips,  and  will  comfortably  seat  from  250  to  300  per- 
sons. The  upper  story  is  occupied  chiefly  as  the 
''Ladies'  Room"  ;  being  neatly  carpeted,  and  provi- 
ded with  seventy  or  eighty  chairs,  settees,  work- 
tables,  tea-tables,  sideboards,  crockery,  and  other 
apparatus,  for  the  convenience  of  the  Sewing  Society 
and  other  meetings.  In  this  "  large  upper-room  fur- 
nished," the  church  prayer  meetings  are  held.  Over 
the  vestibule  is  the  Pastor's  study,  carpeted  and  fur- 
nished in  an  appropriate  manner.  The  Sabbath 
School  Library,  comprising  about  500  well-selected 
volumes,  is  kejDt  in  a  little  room  set  oif  from  the  ves- 
tibule. A  Melodeon  is  used  in  common  by  the  Sab- 
bath School  and  other  meetings  in  the  Chapel  and 
Ladies'  Room. 

The  following  schedule  shows  the  cost  of  the  South 
Church  property,  both  real  and  personal,  distinguish- 
ing as  far  as  practicable,  between  the  Church  and  the 
Chapel : — 


PKELIMINARY  HISTORY,  11 

SOUTH  CHURCH.— Main  Edifice. 

Coat  of  Lot,  - 

Contract  with  Sidney  M.  Stono,  for  main  ediOce, 

Variations  and  extras,      .... 

Richard  Carse,  windows  for  cluu'ch,  complete, 

Bell,  (2,504  lbs.)  and  rigging,  from  Holbrook's  Fonndry, 

East  Med  way,  Mass., 
Gas  pipes,  meter,  itc.,       .... 
Grading,  turfing,  trees  and  vines,  about  tlie  cliurcli,    ^ 
Paving  in  front  of  church,  .  .  .  , 

Carpets  for  church,  and  putting  down, — Marble  &  Foste 
Church  furniture, — Blair's  bill,     - 
Psalm  books  and  Music  books  for  church, 
Mats,  &c.,  for  church, — Walker's  bill. 
Curtains  for  pnlpit  windows, — Doolittle's  bill,     - 
Organ,  from  Erbea's  Factory,  New  York, 
Carting  do.,  and  trinnnings  for  pulpit. 
Countryman's  bill   for  out-buildings,  benclies,  and   sundries 

about  church, 
Communion  Service,  and  Baptismal  Yase, 
Cloths  for  do.,      ..... 
Wm.  M.  Hubbard,  for  work,  A:c.  at  church,  before  occupancy. 
Iron  Railing  Company's  biU  for  fences,  &c.. 
Painting  iron  fences, — Andrews' bill, 
Countryman's  bill  for  vestibule, 

Total  cost  of  church  edifice  and  furniture  complete. 

including  ground,  -  -  .      $27,877  55 

SOUTH  CHURCH  CHAPEL. 

Sidney  M.  stone's  bill  for  Chapel,  .  .  .        $i;,07(J  ;;l 

Yentilators  for  do.,  -  -  .  .  .  1100 

Carting  stone  for  do.,— Hull  .t  "Wallace's  bill.      -  .  ].';2  00 

stones  left  after  building  clmrcli,— boudit  of  Perkins  i  Iline,       2 1   00 
Carse,  for  Chapel  window  s,  ....  04;)  qq 

Carpets  for  lecture  room  cf  Chapel,-  Marble  c^-  Foster,  1 4;)  79 


$  1,015 

00 

10,000 

00 

235 

Hi 

G54 

00 

68G 

00 

:j8 

70 

195 

37 

o5 

7(; 

G:i2 

38 

1,270 

17 

o'l 

G3 

22 

81 

88 

50 

2,500 

00 

32 

09 

■ies 

332 

06 

75 

00 

18 

50 

cy,   2 1 

23 

018 

38 

25 

00 

48 

81 

12 


PRELIMINARY  HISTORY. 


Mats,  &c.  for  Chapel, — "Walker,               -            -            -  5  71 
Blair's  bill  for  suudries  in  furnishing  Chapel  and  Pastor's  Study,    230  00 

do.     do.   furniture  for  Ladies'  Room,                -            -  190  00 

Side-board  for                    do.       do.      Bowditch,              -  7  00 

Carpets  for                        do.       do.      Marble  &  Foster,  -  109  7. "J 

Oil  cloth  for                       do.       do.       P'airnian,                -  4  13 

Stove,  &c.                           do.       do.       Cannon,    -             -  18  27 

Crockery  and  tea  \irn  for  do.       do.       Minor,      -            -  23  51 

Gas  exte-sion  to  Chapel,              -            -            -            -  46  50 

Bible  and  127  Hymn  Books,  (red  covers,)  for  Chapel,      -  44  45 

Six  missionary  maps  for  do.         ....  '_>8  00 


Total  cost  of  chapel  and  furniture  complete, 
church,  &.C..  as  above,*     - 


$7,346  40 
27,877  55 


Church  and  Chapel,  including  ground.f 
Of  whicli  was  paid  by  Thomas  R.  Trowbridge 

and  Brothers,         ....         $3,500  00 
By  Sidey  M.  Stone,          ....  1,00000 

By  Amos  Smith, 1,000  00 


S35.223  95 


5,500  00 


By  Gerard  Hallock, $29,723  95: 

who,  accordingly,  on  the  23cl  of  April,  1853,  con- 
veyed to  Thomas  R.  Trowbridge,  for  the  latter  and 
his  brothers,  Henry  and  Ezekicl,  one  undivided  tenth 
of  all  the  property  aforesaid,  and  to  Sidney  M.  Stone 


*  This  distinction  in  the  cost  of  Church  and  Chapel  is  not  strictly 
accurate,  as  some  of  the  bills  are  charged  to  the  Church  which  belong, 
in  part,  to  the  Chapel,  and  vice  versa.  For  instance,  the  iron  railing  is 
all  charged  to  the  Church,  while  the  stone  coping  on  which  it  rests,  is 
all  charged  to  the  Chapel.  So,  likewise,  the  liorse-sheds  and  other 
out-buildings  are  all  charged  to  the  Chiu-ch,  while  all  the  side-walk 
pavement  on  Liberty  street  Is  charged  to  the  Chapel.  On  (ho  whole, 
the  variations  from  exactness  about  balance  each  other. 

f  Many  small  items,  amounting  to  several  hundred  dollars  in  tho 
aggregate,  were  paid  by  the  principal  proprietor,  wilhoul  bcin.;-  inclu- 
ded in  lhi.«  account. 


PRELIMINARY  HISTORY.  13 

and  Amos  Smith,  each  an  undivided  thirty-fifth. 
In  1855  he  re-purchased  the  shares  of  Messrs.  Stone 
and  Smith,  and  on  the  20th  October,  1864,  those  of 
the  Messrs.  Trowbridge  ;  tlms  becoming  sole  proprie- 
tor. As  soon  as  a  church  was  organized.  No-,  ember 
8,  1852,  the  buildings  were  placed  at  its  disposal,  for 
use  and  occupancy,  at  the  nominal  rent  of  a  barley- 
corn a  year,  and  have  continued  in  its  possession,  or 
in  that  of  the  church  and  society,  to  the  present  time, 
at  the  same  nominal  rent, — the  principal  proprietor 
keeping  the  property  insured  at  his  own  expense  for 
about  $30,000,  and  doing  most  of  the  repairs.  As 
lie  is  the  only  one  of  the  original  proprietors  who  is 
now  connected  with  the  church  and  society,  and  as 
he  is  identified  with  them  in  all  tlieir  symjjathies  and 
interests,  they  Jiave  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  present  state  of  things,  until  they  shall  be  dis- 
posed to  take  the  property  into  their  own  hands,  and 
sustain  tj^e  establishment  after  the  usual  manner  of 
such  organizations.  Whenever  that  time  shall  come, 
it  is  fair  to  presume  that  they  will  find  him  ready  to 
meet  their  wishes  on  satisfactory  terms. 

It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  the  Soutli 
Church  was  erected  with  a  view  to  the  occupancy  of 
its  jiulpit  by  Rev.  E.  N.  Sawtell,  now  seamen's 
chaplain  at  the  port  of  Havre,  France.  He  had  pre- 
viously occupied  the  last  named  position  for  seven 
years, — had  ofiiciated  for  about  an  equal  period  as 
pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  Louisville,  Ky., 
and  for  several  years  had  been  one  of  the  Secretaries 


14  PRELIMINARY  HISTORY. 

of  a  Society  in  New  York,  now  known  as  the  Amer- 
ican and  Foreign  Christian  Union.  In  every  sphere 
in  which  he  had  been  called  to  act,  he  had  acquitted 
himself  with  distinguished  ability ;  and  being  now 
at  the  zenith  of  his  intellectual  powers,  with  a  warm, 
Christian  heart,  and  rare  speaking  talents, — withal 
lony-in":  to  engage  again  in  his  Master's  service  as  a 
preacher  and  pastor, — it  was  a  great  disappointment 
to  those  of  us  who  knew  his  worth,  to  find  ourselves 
cut  off  from  all  prospect  of  consummating  the  pro- 
posed arrangement ;  and  equally  so  to  himself,  as 
will  be  seen  by  the  following  extracts  from  his  letters  : 

"Cleveland,  December  30,  1851. 

"For  several  weeks  it  has  been  in  my  heart  to  write  you 
fully  and  frankly  on  the  precarious  state  of  my  health,  or 
rather,  the  almost  entire  loss  of  my  speaking  powers.  *  * 
You  are  aware,  I  think,  that  an  attack  of  bilious  fever 
which  I  had  in  New  York  last  February,  was  succeeded  by 
an  inflammation  of  the  throat,  which  troubled  me  more  or  less 
through  the  summer.  It  however  gave  me  but  little  anxie- 
ty, as  I  thought  time  and  care  would  eradicate  the  com- 
plaint. In  this  I  have  been  mistaken.  On  the  return  of 
cold,  frosty  weather,  it  seized  my  throat  with  increased  vir- 
ulence ;  and  since  leaving  New  York,  1  have  not  been  able 
to  preach  at  all.  Even  in  conducting  family  worship,  or 
reading  an  article  aloud  in  a  newspa[)er,  my  voice  has  so  ut- 
terly failed  me,  that  I  could  finish  it  only  in  a  whisper.  I 
have  availed  myself  of  the  best  medical  advice,  but  to  very 
little  purpose;  physicians  give  me  but  little  encouragement. 

"  Now,  my  dear  sir,  what  shall  be  done  1  The  Lord's 
hand  is  evidently  in  tliis  matter,  and  while  it  is  our  duty  to 
bow  submissively  to  His  will,  it  is  eciually  our  duty  to  in- 
(piire  what  lie  will  have  us  to  do.  *  *  *  (>,  what  a 
world  of  uncertainties  and  disappointments  !     How  easy  for 


PRELIMINAUy  HISTORY.  15 

flic  Lord  to  thwart  all  our  plans !  It  does  indeed  require 
much  grace  to  say  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances, 
'  Tlie  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.'  Lord,  increase  our  faith. 
*  *  *  Mrs.  Sawtell  has  often  felt  that  the  Lord  might  tear 
me  away  from  what  she  sometimes  feared  was  my  idol. 
Though  not  conscious  of  idolatry,  I  am  aware  that  my  soul 
has  been  wrapped  up  in  that  one  object.  But  the  Lord  can 
do  without  me.  That  lie  intends  to  have  a  church  there,  I 
have  not  the  least  shadow  of  doubt,  though  my  voice  may 
never  be  heard  in  that  pulpit.  May  God  bleys  you  and 
yours,  and  the  enterprise  you  have  so  much  at  heart." 

"  Cleveland,  Feb.  18,  1852. 

"  Mtssrs.  JIallock,  Trotvhridge,  Smith,  Stone,  and  others. 

"Dear  Sirs: — The  recent  intelligence  which  I  have 
received  of  the  near  completion  of  your  church  edifice,  has 
filled  my  heart  with  mingled  emotions  of  joy  and  grief;  of 
joy,  that  the  Lord  has  enabled  you  to  do  so  much ;  grief, 
at  the  prospect  of  my  doing  so  little,  or,  perhaps  as  I  ought 
rather  to  say,  nfmf/  doing  nothing,  in  advancing  that  noble 
enterprise  in  which  you  are  engaged.  I  have  before  in- 
timated to  some  of  my  friends,  my  fears  on  this  subject, 
owing  to  the  precarious  state  of  my  voice.  But  hoping  at 
the  return  of  each  day,  that  some  favorable  change  or 
sym{itoms  might  manifest  themselves,  and  unwilling  to  be 
convinced  that  I  was  to  have  no  part  nor  lot  in  that  mat- 
ter, I  have  deferred  writing  to  you  jointly,  until  I  dare  de- 
fer no  longer.  I  think  it  due  to  you  all,  as  well  as  to  my- 
self, to  make  known  to  you  the  whole  truth  in  this  matter, 
and  keep  nothing  back,  that  is  in  the  least  calculated  to 
shed  light  upon  your  path  and  mine.  During  the  whole 
winter  I  have  been  a  great  sufferer,  with  an  inflammation  of 
the  throat,  accompanied  with  an  entire  exhaustion  or  pros- 
tration of  my  speaking  powers.  I  have  recently  made  two 
attempts  to  speak  in  public,  in  both  of  which  I  failed,  and 
had  to  cut  short  my  remarks,  and  from  the  effects  of  which 
I  have  not  yet  recovered.  One  was  simply  a  short  address, 
at  the  anniversary  of  the  Society  for  National  Popular  Ed- 
ucation ;  and  although  I  yielded  reluctantly  to  the  solicita- 
tions of  riovernor  Slade  to  make  this  address,  I  finallv  did 


16  PRELIMINARY  HISTORY. 

it  rather  as  au  experiment,  to  see  what  effect  it  would  pro- 
duce upon  my  throat,  that  it  uiiglit  shed  light  upon  my 
future  path,  and  enable  you  tlie  better  to  judge  whether  it 
would  be  prudent  and  wise  for  me  to  enter  upon  that  invi- 
ting and  important  field  of  labor  which  you  have,  at  so 
much  expense,  opened  before  me.  To  my  own  mind,  the 
testimony  furnished  by  this  experiment,  has  been  most 
painfully  conclusive.  I  did  not  spend  over  an  hour  in  jot- 
ting down  the  few  thoughts  I  offered  on  that  occasion,  and 
yet,  w^hen  I  entered  the  church,  my  whole  frame  was  agi- 
tated, my  nerves  unstrung,  ray  throat  inflamed  and  almost 
closed  up,  and  when  I  returned  home,  I  had  a  high  fever, 
and  for  three  days  was  confined  to  the  house.  There  seems 
to  be  a  connection,  a  strange  sympathy,  between  my  throat 
and  all  mental  efforts.  The  least  excitement  only  enhances 
tlie  disease ;  and  as  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  speak  in  pub- 
lic, and  much  less  to  preach  the  Gospel,  without  mental 
effort,  and  strongly  excited  feelings,  I  can  see  but  little 
hope  for  me, — and  I  write  this  with  a  feeling  heart  and 
weeping  eyes. 

"  I  have  earnestly  prayed,  that  if  it  be  for  the  glory  of 
God,  this  cup  of  disappointment  might  pass  from  me. 
'Yet,  not  my  will,  but  Thine,  0  Lord,  be  done,'  must,  and 
I  trust  ever  will  be,  the  language  of  my  heart.  I  have 
often  pictured  to  myself  the  happiness  I  should  experience 
in  once  more  returning  to  the  duties  of  a  pastoral  life,  after 
the  shifting  scenes  through  which  I  have  passed,  and  of 
having  my  family  located  in  such  a  place  as  New  Haven, 
and  of  closing  my  ministerial  labors  in  what  would  seem  to 
be  as  near  an  earthly  paradise  as  any  thing  I  could  imagine 
this  Hide  of  Heaven;  and  it  may  be  that  my  Heavenly 
Father  has  seen  some  lurking  sin  in  these  anticipations, 
that  needs  to  be  eradicated,  ere  I  can  '  be  made  meet  for 
the  inheritance  of  the  children  of  light.'  Or,  it  may  be, 
that  He  sees  some  other  one  that  could  better  fill  that 
place,  and  that  He  has  other  work  for  me  to  do.  At  any 
rate,  we  cannot,  we  nmst  not,  shut  our  eyes  to  the  clear  in- 
dications of  His  providence,  however  tiiey  may  thwart  our 
])urposes  or  cross  our  inclinations.  I  need  not  say,  that  all 
that,  human  skill  can  do  or  devise,  has  been  done  in  my  case 


PKELIMINARY  HISTORY,  17 

My  physicians  give  1)iit  little  encouragement  of  my  ever 
being  able  to  preach  nuich  more. 

****** 

"And  now,  my  clear  friends,  may  that  God,  '  whose  path 
is  in  the  deep, — whose  ways  are  past  finding  out,'  guide 
you,  and  Mess  yju  abundantly  in  your  noble  work,  and  send 
you  a  man  after  '  His  own  heart,'  And  should  it  please 
Him  to  restore  me, to  health,  and  permit  us  to  labor  to- 
gether, we  will  rejoice.  If  not,  we  will  liow  meekly  at  His 
feet,  and  say,  '  Let  the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.' 

"  Your  sincere  friend  and  brother  in  Christ, 

E.  N".  Sawtell." 

"  Cleveland,  Feb.  21,  1852. 
*  *  "So  long  have  I  been  in  the  habit  of  contempla- 
ting that  church  as  my  own  child,  beloved  and  longed  for, 
that  now,  to  give  it  up,  seems  at  times  like  the  plucking 
out  of  a  riglit  eye.  But,  my  dear  friend,  let  our  daily 
prayer  be,  that  our  mutual  disappointment  may  be  mutu- 
ally sanctified  to  us, — and  teach  us  more  and  more  our  de- 
pendence on  God,  and  the  uncertainty  of  all  human  calcu- 
lations. The  Lord  docth  all  things  well.  '  How  unsearch- 
able are  His  judgments,  and  His  ways  past  finding  out.' 
♦  *  *  And  now,  my  dear  brother,  I  commend  you  to 
God,  and  to  the  word  of  His  grace ;  praying  that  His 
grace  may  be  suflficieut  for  you,  and  for  all  who  are  labor- 
ing with  you;  and  that  God  may,  in  His  own  good  time, 
send  you  a  man  after  His  own  heart,  to  preacli  faithfully 
the  Gospel  of  His  dear  Son,  and  break  unto  you  the  bread 
of  life." 


"  Cleveland,  April  5,  1852. 
"  Your  kind  letter,  announcing  an  invitation  to  Rev.  Dr. 
Stiles  to  take  my  place  in  the  new  Church,  has  been  duly 
received,  with  heart-felt  gratitude  to  God  for  directing  your 
minds  to  that  man  of  God, — a  man  of  all  others  in^  the 
large  circle  of  my  acquaintance  I  should  prefer.  i\Iy  sin- 
cere hope  and  earnest  prayer  is,  that  God  will  send  him  to 
you,  and  o])en  for  him  a  wide  door  of  usefulness.  I  can- 
not doubt  but  a  blessing, — a  rich  harvest  is  before  him,  if 
he  enter  that  field.    He  is  a  good  man  and  true ;  fervent, 

9 


18  PRELIMINARY  HISTORY. 

eloquent,  full  of  holy  fire  and  apostolic  zeal, — simple  as  a 
child, — an  eye  single,  a  heart  warm,  and  a  wliole  body  full 
of  light.  0,  should  I  live  to  see  him  settled  among  you,  I 
should  feel  that  the  Lord's  hand,  which  is  so  heavily  laid 
on  me,  had  by  it  wrought  the  greater  mercies  for  you,  and 
for  that  dear  infant  church." 


CHAPTEK  II. 


MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES. 


At  the  time  our  apj)lication  was  made  to  Rev.  Dr. 
Stiles,  he  was  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society,  as  Secretary  for  the  South  ;  spend- 
ing most  of  his  time  in  the  Southern  States,  in 
furtherance  of  the  objects  of  that  institution.  Our 
application  took  him  by  surprise,  and  was  successful 
only  because,  when  we  had  ascertained  his  j)urpose 
never  again  to  accept  a  permanent  pastorship,  we 
modified  our  overture  accordingly.  In  a  letter  dated 
Savannah,  April  1,  1852,  he  wrote  as  follows  : — 

"While  I  am  comforted  that  good  brethren  should  invite 
me  to  any  field  in  my  Master's  vineyard,  and  especially  so 
important  a  one,  I  must  respond, — if  the  intent  of  your 
communication  is  to  call  me  to  officiate  as  the  permanent 
minister  of  the  church,  I  must,  as  at  present  advised,  answer 
respectfully,  but  decidedly  in  the  negative.  From  consti- 
tutional structure  rather  than  holy  principle,  I  habitually 
over-work.  Youthful  vigor  and  inordinate  effort  may  agree 
for  a  time,  but  years  and  over-work  have  no  congeniality. 
This  has  long  been  my  experience.  *  *  *  I  think  I  may 
say  that  no  agency  in  the  Kingdom  could  content  me  for  a 
moment,  if  it  denied  me  the  opportunity  of  so  preaching 
the  Gospel  as  to  promise,  under  God,  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners. For  this  reason,  why  should  I  wish  to  exchange  my 
present  occupation  for  a  regular  jiastorship  \  I  think  I  have 
seen  many,  many  conversions  this  winter;  thirty  or  forty 
in  one  place,  and  occasional  instances  all  along  down  to  my 


20  MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES. 

very  last  preachings  ;  and  my  conviction  is,  not  to  the  detri- 
ment, but  rather  to  the  advantage,  of  my  official  work.  You 
understand  from  this  extended  sketch,  what  my  response  is 
to  any  application  to  accept  the  permanent  pastorate  of  a 
church.  *  *  *  Had  the  call  been  to  a  tcmporarn  service, 
(and  such  the  early  language  of  your  letter  seemed  to  indi- 
cate, when  you  said,  '  to  dedicate  this  church  or  assist  in 
dedicating  it,  and  then  go  on  preaching  in  it  until  such  time 
as  you  may  see  fit  to  organize  a  church,')" — had  such  been 
the  nature  of  the  call.  Dr.  JStiles  leaves  it  to  be  inferred  that 
his  difficulty  on  this  head  would  have  been  obviated.  He 
adds,  "  Now  my  brother,  let  me  say  in  conclusion,  I  honor 
you  and  your  three  coadjutors  in  my  heart.  You  are  doing 
a  good  work.  Surely  the  Lord  will  in  due  time  point  out 
His  man  for  your  church.  I  need  not  say  that  I  will  take  a 
special  interest  in  your  enterprise,— shall  delight  in  its  pros- 
perity— shall  love  at  any  time  to  speak  the  Master's  mes- 
sages to  your  people, — and  do  now  pray,  The  Lord  be  with 
you." 


Macon,  Geo.,  April  14,  1852. 

*  *  *  "The  Lord  lead  us,  in  the  matter  of  the  church, — 
command  my  services  if  He  so  directs, — forbid  my  connex- 
ion with  you  if  this  is  His  will." 

"  P.  S.  I  have  this  moment  received  your  last.  God 
bless  my  dear  brother  Sawtell.  My  friends  everywhere 
think  too  much  of  me." 

Not  to  extend  these  extracts,  suffice  it  to  say,  that 
on  reading  them,  our  application  was  so  modified  as 
only  to  invite  Dr.  Stiles  to  come  and  dedicate  the 
church,  and  then  to  remain  Avith  us  so  long  as  his 
sense  of  duty,  under  all  tlie  ch-cumstances,  as  seen  by 
himself,  should  seem  to  require.  The  reader  will  bear 
in  mind  that  there  was  at  this  time  no  church  organ- 
ization,— much  less  an  ecclesiastical  society.  What- 
ever arrangements  were  to  be  made  for  the  supply  of 
the  pulpit,  must  be  made  by  the  proprietors,  for  there 


MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES.  21 

was  no  one  else  to  do  it.  Well,  Dr.  8tiles  at  length 
came.  Mr.  Sawtell  also  came.  The  dedication  had 
been  fixed  for  the  last  Sabbath  in  June,  1852,  and 
these  good  men,  as  if  moved  by  an  invisible  attrac- 
tion, were  here  the  day  previous,  and  stopped  at  the 
house  of  one  of  the  proprietors,  where  they  were 
thrice  welcome.  The  new  church  and  its  ijrosi)ective 
dedication  and  promise  of  usefulness,  were  the  absorb- 
ing tlieme  of  their  conversation  and  prayers.  On  the 
(Saturday)  evening  previous  to  the  dedication,  Mr. 
Amos  Smith  called  to  see  them,  and  nearly  the  whole 
evening  was  spent  in  fervent  addresses  to  the  Throne 
of  Grrace, — each  of  the  three  brethren  officiating  in 
turn, — or  in  serious  conversation  suggested  by  the 
occasion  which  had  brought  them  together.  It  was 
an  evening  long  to  be  remembered  ;  for  if  ever  a 
church  was  thoroughly  and  honestly  dedicated  to 
God  in  advance,  it  was  then  and  there,  in  that  im- 
promptu meeting  of  four  persons.  They  prayed  that 
God  would  own  and  bless  that  sanctuary  from  its 
very  beginning  ;  that  his  Holy  Spirit  might  ever 
dwell  in  it  and  overshadow  it  ;  that  the  faithful 
Gospel  might  ever  be  faithfully  preached  there,  and 
tlessed  to  the  conviction,  conversion,  and  salvation  of 
a  multitude  of  souls.  There  Avas  no  formality  about 
the  exercises, — no  effort, — nothing  pre-concerted  ;  it 
was  the  spontaneous  outtiow  and  overflow  of  Chris- 
tian hearts,  united  in  one  object,  and  moved  by  a 
heavenly  influence.     To  these  prayers,  and  the  an- 

0* 


22  MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES. 

swer  to  them,   Dr.  Stiles  alludes  in  one  of  the  ex- 
tracts quoted  below. 

The  first  sermon  ever  preached  in  the  South 
Church  was  by  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles,  on  Sabbath  mor- 
ning, June  27,  1852,  from  the  text,  "  Why  will  ye 
die  ?"  It  was  a  deeply  impressive  discourse,  and 
was  preached  to  a  very  large  audience.  Not  only  the 
fame  of  the  preacher,  but  the  novelty  of  the  occa- 
sion, drew  together  a  crowd  of  hearers.  In  the  after- 
noon the  pulpit  was  occupied  by  some  other  clergy- 
man. In  the  evening.  Dr.  Stiles  j)reaclied  the  Dedi- 
cation sermon,  from  the  text,  "  I  am  not  ashamed 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ."  He  now  laid  out  his  full 
strength,  stimulated  alike  by  the  greatness  of  his 
theme,  and  by  the  sea  of  up-turned  faces  which  he 
saw  before  him.  Every  slip  and  aisle,  every  gallery 
and  entry,  every  standing-place,  and  even  the  pulpit 
stairs  of  that  spacious  edifice,  were  filled  to  overflow- 
ing, and  hundreds  went  away,  from  the  impossibility 
of  gaining  admittance.  Eev.  Mr.  Sawtcll  was  pres- 
ent to  enjoy  the  scene,  but  was  unable  to  take  any 
prominent  part  in  the  exercises.  Several  persons, 
who  afterward  obtained  joy  and  peace  in  believing, 
date  their  first  religious  impressions  from  the  solem- 
nities of  that  day.  One  man  in  i;)articular,  then  be- 
tween 45  and  50  years  of  age,  who  had  lived  a  very 
wicked  life  and  gloried  in  his  wickedness,  was  melted 
down  under  convictions  of  the  truth,  and  never  found 
rest  until  he  found  it  in  Christ.  He  has  ever  since 
Avitnessed  a  good  confession, — always  ready  to  lift  uj> 


MINISTRY  OB'  DR.  STILES.  23 

his  voice  in  prayer  or  praise, — to  do  or  to  suffer  for 
liis  Divine  Master, — and  is  now  an  officer,  as  well  as 
a  most  efficient  member,  of  the  South  Cburcli.  Lest 
it  should  be  thought  that  this  statement  is  too  high- 
ly colored,  we  here  present  his  own  account  of  the 
'•'  great  change"  which  took  place  in  his  views  and 
feelings,  as  published  in  a  little  Tract,  not  very  long 
after  the  date  of  his  conversion.  In  that  Tract  he 
says,— 

"  From  early  boyhood,  say  for  the  last  thirty  six  years  of 
my  life,  I  was  a  disbeliever  in  the  Bible,  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, and  even  in  the  existence  of  God  himself.  I  saw  a 
controlling  power  all  aroimd  me,  but  never  connected  it  with 
a  divine  person.  My  creed  looked  to  this  world  as  the  end 
of  all  things,  and  taught  me,  if  happiness  was  to  be  found 
at  all,  it  must  be  reached  in  thi.s  life.  The  fact  is,  at  the 
age  of  thirteen  years  I  discarded  all  the  influence  of  ray 
pious  parents  and  friends,  and  claimed  the  right  to  control 
my  own  acts. 

"As  I  advanced  in  life  I  denounced  the  clergy,  closed  my 
ears  to  all  Christian  advice,  and  my  eyes  to  all  the  provi- 
dences of  God.  I  seldom  entered  a  church.  My  Sabbaths 
were  desecrated  by  devotion  to  boating,  fishing,  hunting, 
nay,  to  all  sorts  of  amusements,  which  I  took  great  pleasure 
in  boldly  prosecuting  before  the  eyes  of  the  i)ublic.  I 
ridiculed  and  even  abused  those  who  were  disposed  to  ob- 
serve the  Sabbath.  I  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  pre- 
vailing state  of  my  mind  when  I  heard  the  Sabbath  bells, 
and  looked  upon  the  multitudes  repairing  to  the  house  of 
God.  I  said  in  my  heart,  'You  fools,  I  never  saw  God,  and 
you  never  did ;  why  not  act  as  sensible  beings,  and  enjoy 
yourselves  as  i  do?'  In  a  word,  I  determined  'to  sail  the 
ship  myself,'  and  for  thirty-six  years  I  did  so.  Was  I 
happy  1  No ;  all  was  dark  and  gloomy  in  the  prospect. 
Death  and  the  grave  were  constantly  before  me,  and  though 
in  perfect  health,  yet  when  tliinking  of  the  future  1  was 
always  disturbed. 


24  MINISTRY  OF  PR.  STILES. 

"  My  views  and  feelings  are  now  greatly  changed.  And 
wliy  ?  I  gave  a  moment's  honest  attention  to  the  salvation 
of  my  soul,  and  by  the  grace  of  God  I  am  now  happy. 
Dear  fellow-sinner,  whether  you  admit  your  accountal)ility 
or  not,  if  you  will  open  your  eyes  and  ears,  and  lift  up  your 
heart  to  God  for  mercy  and  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ, 
you  can  secure  that  same  change,  and  be  happy  too. 

"  I  was  induced  to  attend  the  dedication  of  a  church  in 
the  place  where  I  lived.  The  preacher  was  earnest  and 
warm  in  his  aj^peal  to  the  consciences  of  the  audience.  I 
was  a  close  listener  to  his  words.  Truth  was  permitted  for 
the  first  time  to  light  up  my  dark  mind.  The" Spirit  of  God 
became  an  inmate  of  my  heart.  From  a  listener  I  became 
an  inquirer.  In  due  time  the  great  truths  of  the  gospel 
opened  upon  my  agonized  soul.  I  saw  my  sins  and  my 
ruin.  The  anguish  of  my  spirit  was  awful  in  the  extreme. 
I  was  actually  on  the  very  borders  of  despair.  None  but 
God  knows  the  strugglings  and  sufferings  of  that  hour,  or, 
blessed  be  His  name,  the  peace  and  comfort  which  I  now 
enjoy.  I  can  tell  you  of  my  present  hai)py  faith,  and  of 
the  contrast  between  the  hope  of  the  unrepeiiting  sinner  and 
that  blessed  hope  which  by  the  grace  of  God  now  cheers 
my  soul.  I  can  tell  you  that  the  future  now  looks  bright; 
that  there  is  now  no  sting  in  death,  no  victory  in  the  grave, 
no  bliss  in  ignorance.  Open  your  eyes  and  ears  and  heart, 
and  God  will  give  you  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  with  it  a  bless- 
ing so  great  that  your  soul  cannot  contain  it." 

This  is  a  good  beginning,  it  may  bo  said  ;  but  did 
he  hold  out  ? — did  his  religion  last  ?  His  old  com- 
panions in  sin,  when  they  heard  that  he  had  been 
converted,  predicted  that  in  six  months  lie  would  bo 
as  bad  as  ever.  If  he  should  not,  they  would  be 
compelled  (they  said)  to  believe  there  was  something 
in  religion.  Well,  it  is  now  twelve  years  since  his 
conversion,  and  where  does  ho  stand  ?  Tlie  follow- 
ing extracts  will  sliow.     'IMicy  arc  taken  from  letters 


MINISTRY    OF    DR.  STILES.  25 

which,  on  each  anniversary  of  his  spiritual  Lirth,  he 
lias  been  in  the  habit  of  addressing  to  a  iriend  Avho 
took  a  part  in  the  erection  of  the  South  Church 
buildings. 

New  Haven,  Nov.  23,  1861. 

"  Nine  j'ears  ago,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  entered  upon  a 
new  life,  with  strong  promises  that  as  the  previous  years  of 
my  existence  had  been  a  failure,  the  years  to  come  should 
be  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  training  of  my  soul  to  enjoy 
His  presence  hereafter.  Every  re  turning  aimiversary  reminds 
me  how  poorly  I  have  kept  that  promise,  and  how  little  I 
liave  done  for  Christ  since  it  was  made.  I  delight  to  see 
the  return  of  this  day  and  hour,  because  ray  heart  goes  out 
in  gratitude,  full  to  overflowing,  towards  God,  that  lie  then 
gave  me  such  strong  assurances  of  His  love  and  favor,  thus 
placing  within  me  a  Hope  which  has  thus  far  been  an  anchor 
to  my  soul  at  all  times.  Yet  while  I  am  made  happy 
under  these  assurances,  I  find  one  draw-back ;  and  I  ask, 
what  have  I  done  for  Christ  in  return  for  his  boundless  love  ) 
to  me.  I  however  still  look  up,  and  apply  the  only  remedy 
which  can  carry  me  safely  through.  I  have  never  for  a 
moment  doubted  the  beginning  of  a  work  of  regeneration  in 
my  heart ;  and  while  the  occurrences  of  nine  years  ago  are 
so  vividly  before  me,  I  never  can.  I  am  reminded  of  the 
faithfulness  of  our  mutual  friend,  Dr.  Stiles,  who  pleaded 
with  and  for  me,  and  how  he  threw  his  whole  heart  into 
the  work  of  kindling  and  fanning  the  faint  glimmering  light 
of  hope  in  my  soul.  O  how  faithfully  and  perseveringly 
<lid  ho  do  his  work !  I  love  to  remember  him.  I  am 
also  reminded  of  your  many  kind  acts  to  me  and  mine ;  for, 
through  the  blessing  of  God  and  your  liberal  enterprise,  we 
are  looking  beijomJ,  for  the  rest  that  remaineth  for  those  only 
that  love  our  connnon  Saviour.  If  at  present  the  interests 
of  this  great  enterprise  appear  neglected  and  tend  to  dis- 
couragement, may  it  not  be  a  consolation  tliat  many  souls 
Jiarc  been  saved  through  its  instrumentality.  I  was  in 
hopes  that  you  would  ere  this  have  seen  a  great  work  done 
within  its  walls.     But  perhaps  a  greater  is  to  come,  after 


26  MINISTRY    OF    DR.  STILES. 

• 

you  have  gone  to  your  rest, — I  am  reminded  at  this  hour, 
that  a  long  life  of  wrong-doing  is  seldom  repented  of;  or  if 
repented  of,  the  heart  is  in  a  jioor  condition  to  shuffle  oif 
evil  associations  and  hal)its.  The  wounds  are  but  partially 
healed,  aud  I  must  carry  through  to  the  grave  much  that 
tends  to  hinder  me  in  the  Christian  race.  Almost  all  my 
companions  in  life,  especially  in  middle  life,  have  gone  to 
the  grave,  full  of  sin,  I  fear.  I  am  reminded  especially 
to-night,  as  I  reflect  on  former  associations,  that  I  am  a 
monument  of  God's  mercy  ;  and  I  ask, — 

"Why  was  I  made  to  hear  thy  voice, 
And  enter  while  there's  room  ? 

"  With  fresh  resolutions  and  hopes,  I  trust  to  enter  the 
new  year  stronger  in  Christ,  richer  in  grace ;  and  if  before 
its  close  my  soul  shall  be  fully  sanctified  and  fitted  for  a 
change,  then  God  shall  have  tlie  glory  of  my  salvation  in 
the  new  home  where  I  hope  to  meet  you." 


"New  Haven,  November  23,  1862. 
"Another  year  is  gone,  making  ten  in  which  I  have  tried 
to  live  worthily  of  the  smiles  and  blessings  of  God,  and 
with  a  hope  of  heaven.  This  anniversary  is  an  eventful 
one, — for  it  comes  freighted  with  bright  hopes  for  our 
church,  and  evidently  bearing  testimony  that  God  is  with 
us,  and  is  comforting  us  its  members,  removing  from  us  the 
clouds  wliich  hung  over  us  but  a  year  since.  It  comes  too, 
cementing  our  mutual  friendship,  begun  ten  years  ago  ;  and 
with  my  heart  so  full  of  gratitude  to  God  and  the  kind  souls 
instrumental  in  my  welfare,  1  nmst  let  some  of  it  escape  by 
means  of  this  letter.  What  wonderful  kindness  and  mercy 
have  been  bestowed  upon  me,  a  poor,  unworthy,  wicked, 
blinded  nuui !  A  few  years  ago  my  soul  was  unsuitable  for 
the.  fellowship  of  God  or  godly  men.  It  now  sees  mercy 
and  love  unmeasured,  and  light  has  taken  up  the  darkness, 
revealing  almost  two  heavens, — one  begun  on  earth,  and 
the  other  to  come,  *  *  *  We  liave  rejoiced  together  that 
our  cl'urci)  (and  I  know  as  but  few  know  how  dear  the 
whole  enterprise  is  to  you)  is  now  in  the  hands  of  a  good 
shepherd,  and  its  prospects  glorious  for  the  fature.    The 


MINISTRY    OF    DR.  STILES.  27 

roots  of  bitterness  over  which  we  have  mourned,  are  dead  ; 
and  with  God's  help,  I  pray  they  may  never  be  seen  again. 

*  *  *  Now,  l)lessed  with  spiritual  comforts, — blessed  in  my 

*  basket  and  store,' — with  numerous  friends  to  give  me  en- 
couragement, I  step  into  the  new  year  with  a  thankful 
heart,  and  a  firm  reliance  on  Christ,  that  he  will  perfect  in 
His  own  time  and  way,  the  good  work  begun  November  23, 
1852." 


"New  Haven,  Nov.  23,  1863. 
"  The  return  of  this  hour  is  to  me  a  comforting  one.  It 
reminds  me  of  the  dreadful  pit  from  which  I  was  digged  just 
eleven  years  ago.  It  seems  but  a  dream, — a  new  life,  and 
one  that  gives  me  good  cheer  as  I  look  forward.  I  feel  that 
with  all  my  short-comings  and  failings  I  can  look  back  to 
the  testimony  that  was  mine  eleven  years  ago,  and  onward 
I  go  with  new  hopes  and  renewed  exertions.  O  what  shall 
I  render  unto  God  for  all  His  mercies  to  me  in  the  space 
of  eleven  years  !  What  changes — what  blessings — what 
love  1" 


»  New  Haven,  Nov.  23,  1864. 
"  This  anniversary  hour  brings  to  my  mind  circumstances 
that  occurred  just  twelve  years  ago  ;  and  they  are  before 
me  now  as  vividly  as  at  that  moment.  Eut  it  is  twelve 
years  (and  they  seem  but  a  few  days)  since  the  light  of 
God's  forgiveness  and  love  shone  so  brightly  in  my  heart. 
The  years  have  been  short,  but  eventful ;  full  of  changes, 
intermixed  with  prosperity  and  adversity  ;  and  yet  through 
them  all  to  this  present  hour,  not  one  doubt  in  the  religion 
of  Jesus  and  the  work  of  His  good  Spirit  in  man's  heart, 
(and  by  God's  grace  I  can  say  in  my  own,)  has  ever  crossed 
my  mind.  The  testimony  then  given  me  by  those  influences, 
was  just  what  my  dark,  wicked  heart  needed,  to  stay  it  in 
its  new  life.  0  the  goodness  of  God  in  leading  me  to  re- 
pentance, that  I  might  see  my  obligations,  my  flagrant  sins, 
and  a  way  of  escape  from  a  just  retribution. — This  anni- 
versary never  conies,  in  its  welcome  round,  without  thoughts 
of  that  man  of  God,  our  mutual  friend.  Dr.  Stiles.  Though 
almost  a  stranger  to  me,  yet  knowing  the  value  of  a  soiil 
better  than  T  did.  he  seemed  to  nie  almost  as  an  angel  of 


28  MINISTRY    OF    DR.  STILES. 

mercy  standing  between  me  and  an  offended  God,  and  there 
earnestly  and  faithfully  pleading  that  the  light  might  illu- 
mine the  darkness  of  my  wicked  soul,  and  salvation  be  given 
me.  How  often  since  I  have  obtained  a  knowledge  of  this 
great  plan  of  salvation  through  Christ,  (for  until  then  I 
could  not  spiritually  discern  it,)  have  I  thought  of  his 
anxiety  and  earnest  pleadings  with  his  Master  in  my  behalf, 
as  resembling  the  attitude  in  which  Christ  now  stands  to- 
ward me,  as  my  Mediator.  It  would  be  a  happy  day  could 
I  meet  this  good  friend  again  ;  but  should  it  be  ordered 
otherwise,  I  feel  the  consolation  that  we  shall  know  each 
other  there,  in  Christ's  kingdom.  Blessed  thought,  and 
thrice  blessed  hope!" 

We  have  followed  out  this  case  to  such  a  length, 
not  only  as  one  of  special  interest  in  itself,  but  as  an 
illustration  of  the  transforming  power  of  religion  in 
the  soul ;  and  also  as  showing  the  character  of  the 
ministrations  with  which  the  South  Church  was 
favored  at  this  early  period  of  its  history.  By  a 
corai)arison  of  dates,  it  wall  be  seen  that  the  person 
alluded  to,  was  struggling  with  convictions  nearly 
five  months  before  he  yielded.  During  all  this  period 
his  anxious  Pastor  was  bearing  him  on  the  arms  of 
faith  to  tlie  Throne  of  Grace,  often  conversing  and 
praying  with  him  personally,  and,  as  we  have  reason 
to  believe,  passing  many  sleepless  hours  of  night,  and 
sometimes  nearly  the  whole  niglit,  in  mingled  emo- 
tions of  hope  and  fear  as  to  what  would  be  the  result. 
Verily  he  watched  for  souls  as  one  who  knew  he  must 
give  an  account.  Otlier  cases  of  conviction  and  con- 
version occu])i('d  liis  thoughts  also  ;  but  he  seemed  to 
feel  that  "  this  kind"  of  possession  was  not  to  be 


MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES.  29 

overcome  except  by  extraordinary  effort.  And  when 
at  length  a  flood  ol  light  broke  in  upon  the  hitherto 
darkened  mind  of  the  convicted  man,  it  was  hard  to 
say  which  most  rejoiced,  the  new-born  babe  in  Christ, 
or  he  who  had  so  long  travailed  in  birth  for  his  sal- 
vation. A  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  was  moving  upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  gave 
tone  and  direction  to  the  preaching,  as  tlie  preaching 
and  other  attendant  means  had  been  blessed  to  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  was  not,  however, 
the  rushing,  mighty  wind,  but  the  still,  small  voice. 
Profound  attention  and  deep  solemnity  pervaded  the 
large  assemblies,  especially  under  the  powerful 
preaching  of  Dr.  Stiles.  Some  of  the  texts  from 
which  he  spoke,  are  as  follows ;  and  the  very  mention 
of  them  will  recall  to  the  minds  of  many  who  heard 
him,  the  general  scope  of  his  remarks  : — 

July  4,  1852.  If  then  I  be  a  Father,  where  is  mine  honor?  Matt 
i.  6. 

Evening.     "To-morrow."    Exod.  xm.  \Q.     Subject,  Procrastination. 

July  11.     Christ  in  you  the  hope  of  glory.     Col.  i.  27. 

Evening.    That  there  should  be  time  no  longer.     Hev.  x.  6. 

July  18.  See,  I  liave  accepted  tiiee  concerning  this  thing  also. 
Gen.  x'lx.  21.     Subject,  Intercessory  Prayer. 

Afternoon.  The  redemption  of  the  soul  is  precious,  and  it  ceascth 
forever.     Ps.  xlix.  8. 

Aug.  8.     All  my  springs  are  in  thee.     Ps.  Ixxxvii.  7. 

Afternoon.  What  could  I  have  done  more  to  ni}--  vineyard  that  I 
have  not  done  in  it  ?     Isa.  v.  4. 

Aug.  15.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Jacob,  How  old  art  thou?  &c. 
Gen.  xlvii.  8,  9.     Subject,  Life's  Pilgrimage. 

Afternoon.  Thou  shalt  guide  me  with  Thy  counsel,  and  afterwards 
receive  me  to  glory.     Ps.  Ixxiii.  24. 

Arig.  22.  And  the  multitude  of  them  that  believed  were  of  one 
heart,  and  of  one  soul,  Ac.     Acts  iv.  32,  33. 

Afternoon.  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world.    John  i.  29. 

3 


30  MINISTRY  OF  DB.  STILES. 

Aitg.  29.  Hear,  0  heavens,  and  give  ear,  0  earth,  for  the  Lord  hath 
spoken:  I  have  nourished  and  brouglit  up  children,  and  tliey  have  re- 
belled against  me.     The  ox  knoweth  his  owner,  &c.     Isa.  i.  2,  3. 

Sejit.  5.  And  again,  when  He  bringeth  in  the  first  begotten  into 
the  world,  He  saith,  And  let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  Him. 
Heb.  i.  6. 

Afternoon.  And  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  accor- 
ding to  the  Spirit  of  Holiness,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
RoTu.  i.  4. 

Sept.  19.  For  there  is  one  God,  and  one  Mediator  between  God 
and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  Himself  a  ransom  for  all, 
to  be  testified  in  due  time.     1st  Timo.  ii.  5,  6. 

Afternoon.     Same  text. 

Sept.  26.  Then  said  Jesus  unto  His  disciples.  If  any  man  will 
come  after  me,  let  him  den}'  himself  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow 
met     Mattheiv  xvi.  24. 

Afternoon.  And  they  that  be  wise,  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of 
the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars 
forever  and  ever.     Dan.  xii.  3. 

Oct.  3- -afternoon.  Sow  to  yourselves  in  righteousness,  reap  in 
mercy;  break  up  your  fallow  ground,  for  it  is  time,  kc.     Ilose.a  x.  12. 

Oct.  10.  And  it  came  to  pass  the  same  nigiit,  that  the  Lord  said 
unto  him.  Arise,  get  thee  down  unto  the  host,  for  I  have  delivered  it 
into  thy  hand,  &c.  Judges  vii.  9,  10,  11.  Subject,  God's  tenderness 
to  His  people. 

Oct.  24.  And  they  all  with  one  consent  began  to  make  excuse. 
The  first  said  unto  him,  &c.     Luke  xiv.  IS. 

Oct.  ?  1 .  Take  my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me,  for  I  am  meek 
and  lowl}^  in  heart,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.     Matt.  xi.  29. 

Xov.  8.  That  they  all  might  be  one ;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  me, 
and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us.    John  xvii.  21. 

These  are  all  the  discourses  preached  by  Dr.  Stiles 
in  the  South  Church  pulpit  prior  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Cliurch  on  the  eveninp;  of  Nov.  8th,  1852. 
On  those  Sabbaths  when  he  did  not  preach,  he  was 
absent  from  the  city,  fulfilling  engagements  which  he 
had  made  before  coming  to  New  Haven.  By  reason 
of  impaired  health,  it  was  understood  beforehand 
that  he  would  not  be  expected  to  2>'>'cach  more  than 
once  on  a  Sabbath  ;  besides  which  he  would  give  an 
extempore  address  in  the  evening.     But  as  yet  the 


MINISTRY    OF    DR.    STILES.  31 

Chapel  was  not  completed,  and  the  evening  services, 
when  there  was  not  preaching  in  the  church,  were 
held  at  private  houses,  in  some  of  which  the  voice  of 
praye»-  and  praise  had  never  been  heard  before.  There 
were  also  more  or  less  meetings  during  the  week  ;  all 
of  which  were  well  attended,  and  many  of  them 
crowded.  The  Spirit  of  God  was  manifestly  present. 
Those  were  happy  seasons,  as  many  who  read  these 
pages  can  testify,  from  their  own  recollection  and  ex- 
perience. 

We  remarked  above,  that  Dr.  Stiles  did  not  engage 
to  preach  more  than  once  on  a  Sabbath.  But,  in 
point  of  fact,  he  generally  did  preach  twice  at  this 
period  of  his  ministry,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  record 
of  texts  just  quoted.  His  sermons,  too,  were  gene- 
rally long,  occupying  about  an  hour  in  their  delivery, 
and  sometimes  more.  Although  not  written  out,  they 
were  well  studied  ;  and  a  j)^ge  or  two  of  manuscript, 
in  addition  to  his  mental  resources,  was  all  that  he 
was  accustomed  to  rely  on,  for  the  re-production  of 
the  most  complicated  processes  of  reasoning,  often 
divided  into  heads  and  sub-heads,  to  an  extent  that 
would  bewilder  any  but  the  most  attentive  hearers. 
To  this  argumentative  character  of  his  preaching  and 
to  his  close  analysis  of  subjects,  is  attributable  the 
fact,  which  we  believe  is  undeniable,  that  his  discour- 
ses were  more  highly  appreciated,  and  more  efiective 
for  good,  in  the  case  of  persons  of  vigorous  minds  and 
mature  judgment,  than  among  the  yoiing,  or  unedu- 
cated adults.     We  here  speak  of  his  discourses  gene- 


32  MINISTRY    OF   DR.    STILES. 

rally  in  tlie  South  Church.  That  he  was  able  to 
adapt  his  preaching  to  the  humblest  capacities,  is 
shown  hy  his  amazing  popularity  and  success  among 
the  negroes  in  the  low  country  of  Georgia,  where  he 
labored  for  a  considerable  period  between  the  date  of 
his  own  conversion  and  his  going  to  Andover  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  When  the  negroes  learned  that  he 
was  about  to  leave  them,  they  begged  him  not  to  go, 
manifesting  toward  him  much  the  same  feeling  as  the 
Ephesiau  elders  did  towards  Paul,  when  they  "fell  on 
his  neck  and  kissed  him  ;  sorrowing  most  of  all  for 
the  words  which  he  spake,  that  they  should  see  his 
face  no  more."  As,  however,  the  Ephesian  elders  ac- 
companied Paul  to  the  ship  which  was  to  take  him 
from  them  forever,  so  the  negroes  collected  by  hun- 
dreds at  the  landing  from  which  their  spiritual  teacher 
was  about  to  depart,  to  hear  his  last  words  and  re- 
ceive his  benediction.  He  accordingly  addressed  them 
from  the  boat,  telling  them  that  he  was  a  new  axe 
which  had  never  been  ground.  His  edge  was  thick, 
and  he  had  to  pound  away  a  long  time  before  he  could 
batter  down  even  a  small  pine.  He  was  going  away 
to  get  sharpened  ;  after  which  he  hoped  he  should  be 
able  to  cut  down  more  trees  in  one  day  than  he  now 
could  in  a  week.  Carrying  out  this  illustration,  so 
familiar  to  the  negroes,  in  such  a  manner  as  few  other 
men  could,  they  were  convinced  that  it  was  best  for 
him  to  go,  and  shouted  "  Go,  massa,  and  de  Lor  be 
wid  you,"  or  to  that  effect.  This  is  the  merest  outline 
of  a  most  thrilling  description  of  the  scene,  as  related 


MINISTRY   OF    DR.    STILES.  33 

by  Dr.  Stiles,  ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  in  the  presence 
of  the  writer.  And  here  we  may  be  permitted  to 
copy,  briefly,  from  "  Sketches  of  Western  Men,"  as 
published  in  the  N.  Y.  Evangelist  of  Feb.  7,  1856. 
Speaking  of  Dr.  Stiles,  the  writer  says  : — 

"  lu  the  Winter  of  1842,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  hear 
this  gentknnan  in  Oxford,  Ohio,  several  successive  evenings 
and  on  the  Sabbath.  *  *  *  He  was  at  this  time  in  the 
prime  of  a  vigorous  manhood,  and  his  bearing  was  solemn 
without  ailectation  and  marked  by  a  noble  manliness.  He 
seemed  to  feel  'how  awful  is  this  place  !'  and  his  whole  de- 
meanor betokened  his  sense  of  the  responsibility  of  one 
who  preaches  the  Gospel.  His  prayers,  in  their  wrestling, 
pleading  fervency,  exceeded  anything  I  had  ever  heard. 
There  was  no  vaunt  or  cant  in  them,  but  they  were  of  that 
style  we  see  in  Abraham's  intercession  for  Lot.  His  tones 
of  voice  were  reverent  but  earnest,  and  he  literally  *  filled 
his  mouth  with  arguments,'  as  he  approached  the  mercy 
seat,  I  have  never  seen  any  flagging  of  interest  as  he  en- 
gaged in  prayer.  I  have  heard  him  in  revivals,  at  com- 
munion season,  in  prayer  meetings,  once  on  the  Mayflower 
on  Lake  Erie,  with  a  little  swearing  French  Catholic  priest 
just  opposite,  and  yet  in  all  places  his  prayers  have  been  so 
reverent,  fervent,  scriptural,  and  pertinent,  that  I  put  them 
down  in  my  own  inind  as  models. 

"  But  in  Oxford  1  heard  him  preacli  as  well  as  pray,  and 
some  of  those  discourses  are  as  vivid  in  memory  as  if  utter- 
ed yesterday.  This  is  specially  the  case  with  two  ser- 
mons ;  the  one  on  the  words,  '  For  there  is  one  God  and  one 
Mediator  between  God  and  maii,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,' 
&c.,  (1  Tim.  ii.  5,  6,)  and  the  other  on  the  expression  of 
Pharaoh  to  j\Ioses,  '  To-morrow.'  In  these  sermons  were 
evidences  of  intense  mental  effort,  and  prodigious  grasp  of 
his  subject.  The  analysis  of  the  sin  of  procrastination,  in 
the  latter  discourse,  was  exceedingly  fine,  and  the  illustra- 
tions admirable.  Such  an  impression  did  this  discourse 
make  on  my  memory,  that,  on  hearing  it  some  years  aftei'- 

3* 


34  MINISTRY   OF    DK.    STILES, 

wards,  a  secon  1  time,  at  the  East,  I  could  anticipate  his 
arguments  and  illustrations,  wilhout  the  least  abatement  of 
interest. 

"Occasionally  he  illustrated  particular  points,  either  by 
anecdotes  or  comparisons,  which  were  always  in  good  taste, 
and  told  on  liis  audience  with  prodigious  power.  Thus,  I 
remember,  he  illustrated  the  necessity  of  a  sinner's  casting 
himself  loose  from  every  refuge,  on  the  mercy  of  Christ,  by 
the  sou  of  a  stern  sea  captain.  One  day,  when  the  ship 
was  at  anchor,  the  boy  had  climbed  to  the  very  top  of  a 
mast,  and  had  lifted  himself  up  so  that  he  stood  on  the 
mast's  top,  on  a  place  scarcely  large  enough  for  his  feet, 
with  nothing  above  him  to  cling  to.  To  attempt  to  stoop, 
in  order  to  catch  something  below,  would  be  to  lose  his  bal- 
ance and  fall  to  the  deck.  A  cry  of  alarm  ran  through  the 
ship  as  his  perilous  situation  was  perceived  by  the  sailors. 
The  father,  coming  from  his  cabin,  saw  tliat  his  son  had  no 
chance  of  life  but  to  spring  from  that  dizzy  height  hito  the 
water ;  and  seizing  his  rifle  with  one  hand,  and  tlie  speaking 
trumpet  in  the  other,  standing  where  the  boy  could  sec  him, 
he  cried  to  him  in  piercing  tones  of  command,  'Jump  into 
the  water,  or  I  will  shoot  you!'  For  a  moment  the  boy 
seemed  wavering.  Every  eye  was  fixed  on  him  with  ago- 
nized intensity.  The  delay  in  obeying  that  stern  voice  was 
but  momentary,  and  the  boy  sprang  into  the  air.  As  ho 
reached  the  water,  several  sailors  sprang  in  and  brought 
him  in  safety  to  the  deck. 

"This  is  a  very  meagre  outline  of  a  most  thrilling  illus- 
tration. The  language,  and  tone,  and  nuumer,  were  highly 
dramatic,  but  perfectly  natural,  and  the  imagination  was  so 
stimulated,  that  it  reproduced  the  scene,  until  it  seemed  an 
actuality,  and  not  a  narrative.  80  powerfully  wrought  up 
was  the  whole  scene  as  to  put  the  hearer  into  an  excitement 
really  painful ;  and  yet  the  anecdote  was  not  suiTered  to  dis- 
tract the  mind  from  the  point  in  hand,  for  instantly  the 
preacher  began  to  describe  the  danger  of  the  impenitent 
sinner,  with  overpowering  earnestness,  and  \mut  to  Christ 
as  the  only  possible  salvation.  The  eflect  here  produced 
was  a  triumph  of  eloquence,  at  least  so  far  as  to  kindle  the 
emotions  of  an  audience  in  a  very  high  degree.    *     •     • 


MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES,  35 

"  These  illustrations  formed  but  a  small  part  of  his  dis- 
courses, and  were  always  such  as  to  administer  to  the  great 
end  aimed  at.  They  were  not  introduced,  as  by  some  inferior 
men,  to  relieve  the  stupidity  of  a  sermon,  and  to  cover  up 
grievous  deficiencies  in  argument  and  substance,  by  some 
captivating  narrative.  I'he  illustration  was  itself  calcu- 
lated to  impress  some  valuable  thought,  to  point  an  argu- 
ment, or  ren'er  some  truth  overpowering.  It  has  been  my 
good  fortune  to  hear  j\Ir.  Stiles  many  times  since,  but  the 
impressions  made  by  those  discourses  in  Oxford  have  never 
been  modified;  and  I  can  easily  imagine  the  power  of  such 
a  preacher  in  his  early  manhood,  when  addressing  vast  au- 
diences, such  as  in  revival  seasons  waited  on  his  ministry 
in  Georgia  and  Kentucky.  He  had  all  the  elements  of 
power  for  a  southern  audience.  He  was  a  most  manly  man 
in  the  pulpit,  and  in  all  the  social  relations  of  father,  broth- 
er, friend  and  pastor;  his  piety  was  unquestioned,  his  pray- 
ers not  merely  ai)i)ropriate  but  subduing,  his  emotions  of 
the  warmest  and  most  generous  character,  his  zeal  apos- 
tolic, his  mind  logical  and  analytical,  his  imagination  bold, 
and  his  view  of  his  business  as  a  preacher  such  as  Paul 
had,  'woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel !"  Withal,  he 
had  a  perfect  freedom  from  all  the  trammels  of  manuscript, 
and  at  times,  when  in  the  full  exercise  of  his  gifts,  seemed 
almost  choked  with  the  burning  words  which  struggled  for 
utterance." 

We  have  copied  the  above  as  a  truthful  description 
of  Dr.  Stiles'  preaching  and  praying,  from  a  source 
less  likely  to  be  suspected  of  partiality  than  the  pres- 
ent writer  ;  who  nevertheless  may  say,  as  he  deeply 
feels,  that  %vhocver  has  had  the  opportunity  of  listen- 
ing to  such  a  preacher,  not  only  on  one  occasion,  but 
for  some  years,  has  incurred  a  weight  of  responsibil- 
ity which  it  is  not  easy  to  estimate.  But  if  some 
were  unprolited  and  unblessed  by  his  ministrations, 
through  prejudice  or  other  causes,  many  received  the 


36  MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES. 

good  seed  into  their  hearts, — ^believed,  and  were  saved. 
Others,  who  were  ah'eady  church-members,  were 
attracted  to  and  around  him,  and  on  the  evening  of 
November  8,  1852,  twenty-nine  of  them,  most  or  all 
of  whom  resided  in  the  south-western  portion  of  the 
city,  were  organized  into  a  Christian  church,  in  con- 
nection with  his  ministry.  [For  names,  see  Cata- 
logue at  the  close  of  this  volume.]  They  had  previ- 
ously appended  their  signatures  to  the  following 
declaration  : — 

"  We,  the  undfisigncd,  having  considered  the  increasing 
population  of  this  section  of  the  city,  and  its  inconvenient 
distance  from  places  of  public  worship,  and  having  felt  the 
consequent  importance  of  Christian  privileges  in  the  midst 
of  us,  and  being  providentially  provided  with  a  sanctuary 
for  the  service  of  God ;  looking  up  to  God  for  holy  motive 
in  our  solemn  work,  aud  for  His  gracious  blessing  upon  it, 
with  a  view  to  the  constitution  of  a  Christian  church, — do 
hereby  subscribe  the  above  as  our  Confession  of  Faith  and 
Church  Covenant." 

These  documents  are  published  in  connection  with 
the  Catalogue,  at  the  close  of  this  volume.  They 
were  chiefly  prepared  by  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles,  and  are  as 
good  an  epitome  of  Christian  doctrine  and  fellow- 
ship as  can  well  be  found.  On  the  evening  aforesaid, 
the  twenty-nine  persons  who  had  thus  united  them- 
selves in  covenant,  although  previously  belonging  to 
three  religious  denominations,  and  to  churches  in 
three  different  States,  were  publicly  organized  into  a 
church,  called  "  The  South  Congregational  Church," 
by  an  Ecclesiastical  Council  whom  they  had  invited 


MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES.  37 

to  meet  for  that  puri)ose,  in  which  were  represented 
by  Pastor  and  Delegate,  the  Centre,  North,  Chapel 
Street,  College  Street,  Howe  Street,  and  Third 
Church,  of  New  Haven  ;  the  First  Church  in  Fair 
Haven,  and  the  Church  in  Westville.  The  Council 
had  previously  approved  of  the  Confession  of  Faith 
and  Covenant,  and  had  expressed  themselves  satis- 
fied with  the  evidence  presented  of  the  regular  stand- 
ing of  the  applicants  in  Christian  churches,  and  of 
their  "dismission  for  the  purpose  of  constituting 
themselves  a  Church  of  Christ,"  The  exercises  of 
the  evening  were  as  follows  : — 

Introductory,  by  Rev.  AVm.  T.  Eustis. 

Sermon,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Bacon. 

Reading  Confession  of  Faith  and  Covenant,  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Cleaveland. 

Address  to  the  Church,  by  Rev.  Edward  Strong. 

Prayer,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Dutton. 

On  the  18th  of  the  same  month,  (November,  1852,) 
a  Committee  of  the  Church,  who  had  been  appointed 
on  the  13th  "  to  consult  with  Mr.  Stiles  in  refer- 
ence to  his  official  relations  to  the  Church,"  reported, 
"  that  he  regards  himself,  and  wishes  to  be  regarded 
by  the  Church,  as  sustaining  the  relation  of  an  indef- 
inite Stated  Supply."  Whereupon  the  following 
preamble  and  resolution  were  adopted  : — 

"Whereas  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles  had  been  engaged  as 
stated  preacher  to  the  congregation  assembling  iu  Co- 
lumbus Street  Church,  before  this  Church  was  consti- 
tuted,— and   whereas   it   is  according   to    Congregational 


38  MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES. 

usage  for  the  Church  to  express  its  concurrence  in  any 
arrangement  that  places  a  pastor  over  them ;  therefore- — 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Church  do  cordially  accept  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Stiles  as  their  Stated  Minister,  and  do  hereby 
invite  him  to  attend  all  their  meetings  for  business,  as 
Moderator." 

On  the  19th  of  the  same  month,  (November, 
1852,)  Benedict  Burwell  and  Eastman  S.  Minor  were 
chosen  Deacons ;  and  on  the  3d  of  June,  1853, 
Thomas  Horsfall  was  added  to  the  number. 

The  first  Communion  of  the  Church  was  held  on 
Sabbath  forenoon,  December  6th,  1852,  on  which 
occasion  five  persons  were  admitted  by  profession, 
and  three  by  letter.  At  that  Communion,  as  at  all 
subsequent  ones  to  the  present  time,  the  usual  hours 
of  worship  in  the  forenoon  were  entirely  devoted  to 
Sacramental  services.  On  the  first  Sabbath  of  each 
alternate  month,  from  that  date  to  the  present,  the 
Lord's  Supper  has  been  administered, — with  this  vari- 
ation, that  after  the  Communion  in  December,  1859, 
no  other  was  held  until  the  following  March,  (three 
months,) — the  object  being  to  change  the  order  of 
the  months  in  which  the  Communion  was  held.  It 
is  now  held  in  January,  March,  and  so  on,  each  alter- 
nate month,  to  the  end  of  the  year.  Many  of  these 
celebrations  have  been  deeply  solemn  and  impressive, 
and  besides  church-members,  have  attracted  largt 
numbers  of  other  j)ersons,  to  see  and  hear.  In  most, 
if  not  all  the  other  Congregational  Churches  in  the 
city,  the  Lord's  Supper  is  administered  every  month. 


MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES.  39 

The  Chapel,  which  Avas  completed  and  opened  for 
use  about  the  beginning  of  1853,  became  at  once  the 
place  for  holding  all  religious  meetings,  except  the 
regular  preaching  services  of  the  Sabbath.  Between 
those  services  was  held  the  Sabbath  School.  On 
Sabbath  evenings  there  was  a  large  gathering  in  the 
Chapel  proper,  attracted  by  the  powerful  extempore 
addresses  and  prayers  of  Eev.  Dr.  Stiles  ;  on  Tues- 
day evening  there  was  a  lecture  or  prayer  meeting  ; 
on  Wednesday  afternoon  and  evening,  in  their  room 
over  the  Chapel,  a  meeting  of  the  Ladies'  Benevolent 
Society,  which  was  instituted  November  11,  1852, 
(three  days  after  the  organization  of  the  Church,) 
and  which  at  this  period  assembled  every  week  ;  and 
on  Friday  evening  a  prayer-meeting.  The  Ladies' 
Society  devoted  the  afternoon  to  sewing  for  benevo- 
lent purposes  ;  at  tea-time  they  sat  down  to  a  plain 
but  inviting  supper,  having  all  the  ajDparatus  for 
making  tea  and  otherwise  furnishing  the  tables,  with- 
in their  own  precincts  ;  after  tea,  an  hour  or  two 
more  was  spent  in  sewing  ;  then  the  Pastor  took 
charge  of  the  meeting,  and  the  remainder  of  it  was 
devoted  to  strictly  religious  exercises, — including  an 
address,  singing  and  prayer.  These  meetings  were 
turned  to  excellent  account  by  the  Pastor,  who  con- 
versed familiarly  with  the  persons  in  attendance,  and 
when  he  found  cases  of  special  seriousness,  which  he 
often  die],  he  would  invite  them  into  his  study,  in 
the  adjoining  room,  and  talk  and  pray  with  them, 
after   the   usual   manner   of   an    Inquiry    Meeting. 


40  MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES. 

Quite  a  number  of  persons,  now  members  of  the 
church,  trace  their  first  permanent  religious  impres- 
sions to  the  influence  of  these  meetings.  The  table 
was  supplied  by  the  ladies  in  rotation,  or  by  such  of 
them  as  were  able  to  bear  the  expense,  except  that 
a  gentleman  of  the  congregation  oflPered  to  provide 
sugar  and  tea,  which  he  has  continued  to  do  ever 
since,  of  the  choicest  quality.  One  of  the  standing 
rules  of  the  Society  is,  that  "  only  one  kind  of  cake 
be  furnished,  under  jDcnalty  of  one  dollar."  At  the 
anniversaries  of  the  Society  this  rule  does  not  apply. 
On  the  contrary,  every  member,  on  such  occasions, 
brings  in  what  she  pleases  ;  and  the  consequence  is, 
that  there  are  not  only  several  kinds  of  choice  cake, 
but  almost  every  thing  else  that  a  lady's  ingenuity 
can  think  of,  to  make  up  a  rich  and  inviting  repast. 
The  original  number  of  members  was  only  eighteen  ; 
but  it  has  since  very  largely  increased,  and  includes 
gentlemen  as  well  as  ladies, — the  former  paying  an 
annuity  of  one  dollar,  and  the  latter  of  fifty  cents.  At 
some  of  the  anniversary  meetings,  more  than  a  hun- 
dred persons  have  sat  down  to  the  tea-tables,  which, 
of  course,  in  such  cases,  have  to  be  spread  more  than 
once.  The  influence  of  these  gatherings  upon  the 
social  interests  of  the  church  and  congregation  is 
very  valuable,  as  it  brings  and  keeps  the  members 
acquainted  with  each  other,  and  tends  to  do  away 
those  distinctions  which  so  naturally  creep  in,  even 
among  the  members  of  the  same  religious  organiza- 
tion. This  Society  still  continues  to  prosper,  after 
twelve  years  of  successful  experiment. 


MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES.  41 

So  also  does  the  Sabbath  School,     Originally  trans- 
fen-ed  to  the  South  Church  from  the  Mount  Pleas- 
ant School  House,  as  before  stated,  it  was  in  every 
respect  a  humble  institution,  if  institution  it  could 
be  called,  but  has  since  grown  to  liberal  dimensions, — 
more  than  200  teachers  and  pupils  haying  sometimes 
been  in  actual  attendance.     Under  the  able  superin- 
tendence of  Deacon  Warner,  supported  by  a  corps  of 
faithful  teachers,   its  numbers  continue  to  increase. 
From  it  many  plants    of  righteousness   have  been 
transferred  to  the  church,  thence,  it  may  be  hoped, 
to  be  transplanted  into  the  Paradise  above.     Two  or 
three  years  ago,  one  whole  class  of  young  ladies,  five 
or  six  in  number,  who  had  for  a  considerable  period 
enjoyed  the  instructions  and  counsels  of  Deacon  Hors- 
fall,  were  hopefully  converted,  and  united  with  the 
church.     It  has  long  been  customary,  and  still  is,  to 
have  a  Sabbath  School  festival  on  Christmas  day,  in 
the  Ladies'   Eoom,    over   the   Chapel,    where   short 
addresses  are  made,  hymns  sung,  and  a  prayer  offer- 
ed, at  the  close  of  which  a  bag  of  sweetmeats,  fruits, 
&c.  is  distributed  to  each  pupil.     These  are  always 
interesting  occasions,  especially  to  the  children,  and 
are  very  largely  attended.     At  the  last  festival  of  the 
kind,  December  26th,  1864,    (the  25th  being  Sun- 
day,) there  was  a  larger  gathering  than  ever  before 
on  a  similar  occasion.     The  whole  number  of  per- 
sons  present,   including   children,    must   have  been 
nearly  or  quite  400,     About  165  bags  of  s-sveetmeats, 
fruits,   &c.,   were  given  out, — and^l60  or  170  per- 

4 


42  MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES. 

sons,  cliiefly  adults,  sat  down  to  tea.  No  person 
who  accepted  a  Lag,  was  allowed  to  take  supper  at 
the  rooms.  In  the  course  of  the  evening,  an  hour 
or  more  was  occupied  in  singing  ;  several  accom- 
plished musicians  being  present  and  participating. 
Eev.  Mr.  Carroll  and  his  lady  and  mofJier  were  there, 
and  added  to  the  interest  of  the  occasion.  At  a  late 
hour  the  company  separated,  after  an  entertainment, 
moral,  social  and  physical,  which,  taken  all  in  all, 
has  seldom  been  equaled  in  any  church.  There  was  a 
great  abundance  and  variety  of  choice  food,  fruits, 
&c.,  including  a  barrel  of  fresh  oranges,  just  arrived 
from  Porto  Kico  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  bountiful 
repast  enjoyed  by  so  many,  there  was  a  handsome 
surplus  of  money  and  other  good  things,  after  supply- 
ing the  wants  of  all.  There  are  also  quarterly  meet- 
ings of  the  Sabbath  School  in  the  Chapel,  which  take 
the  place  of  the  regular  Chapel  services  on  those 
evenings,  and  are  largely  attended. 

A  Young  People's  Prayer  Meeting  was  commenced 
at  a  very  early  date,  in  the  Chapel,  at  the  close  of  the 
afternoon  service,  and  has  been  continued,  with  occa- 
sional interruptions,  to  the  present  time.  Just  now 
it  is  merged  in  the  "Fulton  street  Prayer  Meeting," 
BO  called,  which  is  held  in  the  Chapel  on  Sunday 
evenings. 

But  to  go  back  to  the  thread  of  our  narrative. 
While  these  collateral  agencies,  most  if  not  all  of 
them,  were  in  operation  and  efficiently  conducted, 
as  long  ago  as   the  beginning  of  1853, — that  is  to 


MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES.  43 

say,  almost  from  the  very  organization  of  the  South 
Church, — the  Sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word 
of  God,  was  powerfully  wielded  by  Dr.  Stiles,  Dr. 
Nathaniel  W.  Taylor,  and  others  ;  and  as  might  be 
expected,  God  •'  left  not  himself  without  witness,  in 
that  he  did  good,  and  gave  us  rain  from  heaven." 
A  few  scraps  from  Dr,  Stiles'  lettere  written  at  that 
period,  will  show  his  estimate  of  the  state  of  reli- 
gious feeling  in  the  congregation  : 

"New  Havev,  Dec.  13,  1852. 
"A  good  meeting  last  night.     Six  persons  among  us  now 
entertain  hope.    One  or  two  interesting  developments  of 
this  kind." 

[From  another  letter  without  date,  but  which  must 

have  been  written  about   the  same  time  with   the 

above.] 

"  Our  seriousness  has  decidedly  increased  since  Sabbath. 
The  young  person  of  whom  I  spoke  as  having  taken  a 
wrong  direction,  but  whose  early  conversion  I  anticipated, 
rejoices  in  Ciirist.  *  *  *  It  is  a  little  remarkable  that  ahnost 
every  awakened  one  says  that  he  was  impressed  from  the 
very  beginning  of  our  services.  Remember  two  things  : — 
our  (perhaps)  sincere  prayers  that  God  would  descend  and 
own  that  House  as  his  accepted  sanctuary,  by  the  move- 
ments of  his  Spirit,  at  that  earliest  moment,  and  forever 
aft^r.  Call  to  mind  your  own  frequent  remark,  when  there 
was  yet  no  outward  manifestation  of  Divine  influence,  that 
the  sermons  preached  would  show  their  fruit  by-and-bye. 

Mr.  and  Mrs. said  to  me  after  meeting  last  night, 

that  since  their  own  conversion  they  had  not  seen  such  a 
demonstration  of  religious  feeling  as  they  then  witnessed." 

"New  Havex,  Dee.  22,  1862. 
"  One  or  two  conversions  this  week ;  particularly  a  Miss 

,  awakened  last  Sabbath.     Prayer  Meeting  very 

crowded." 


44  MINISTRY   OF   DR.  STILES. 

The  same  encouraging  state  of  things  continued 
for  months,  and  with  some  variations,  for  years.  It 
hardly  amounted  to  a  "  revival/'  in  the  usual  accept- 
ation of  the  term  ;  yet  in  the  long  run  it  produced 
the  fruits  of  a  revival.  But  one  Communion  passed, 
in  the  course  of  several  years,  say  from  1852  to  1857, 
when  there  Avere  not  more  or  less  admissions  to  the 
Church  ;  [for  particulars,  see  Catalogue  at  the  close 
of  this  volume  ;]  and  we  remember  well  what  a  cause 
of  lamentation  it  was  to  the  good  man  who  had  the 
interests  of  the  Church  so  much  at  heart,  that  even 
one  such  season  should  pass  without  any  visible 
in-gathering. 

As  a  Southerner  by  birth  and  early  education, — 
as  a  Christian,  with  a  heart  large  enough  to  compre- 
hend the  wants  of  the  whole  country  and  the  world, 
— Dr.  Stiles  was  among  the  foremost  in  a  movement 
commenced  in  the  city  of  New  York  about  a  year 
after  he  came  to  New  Haven,  "  for  the  diffusion  of 
Gospel  truth  in  the  Southern  and  Southwestern 
States."  A  Society  for  that  purpose,  called  the 
"  Southern  Aid  Society,"  was  organized  at  q,  Con- 
vention of  clergymen  and  others  from  different  parts 
of  the  country,  held  in  said  city,  28th  and  29th  of 
September,  1853.  On  the  27th  and  28th  of  October 
following,  the  Society  elected  its  officers,  among  whom 
was  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles  as  General  Agent.  The  neces- 
sity for  such  an  organization  was  very  clearly  set 
forth  in  an  Address  to  the  Christian  Public,  written 
by  Dr.   Stiles,   and   adopted  by  the   Society,  from 


MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES.  45 

which  we  can  make  room  for  only  a  few  paragraphs, 
as  follows  : 

"It  may  be  asked, — 'Why  not  accomplish  your  object 
through  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society  ?  Why 
form  a  new  Society  V  The  answer  is,  that  the  course 
which  the  Home  Missionary  Society  is  understood  to  have 
marked  out  for  itself,  does  not  permit  it  to  perform  our 
work.  First,  because  it  is  restricted  by  its  rules,  from  aid- 
ing any  minister  or  missionary,  however  faithful,  laborious 
or  self-denying,  who,  under  any  circumstances,  is  a  slave- 
holder. And  secondly,  because  the  impression  is  general 
at  the  South,  that  the  Home  Missionary  Society  is  closely 
allied  to  Abolitionism,  so  called.  This  impression,  how- 
ever erroneous,  renders  the  aid  afforded  by  that  Society  to 
churches  in  the  Southern  and  South-Western  States,  of 
doubtful  value  in  reference  to  success ;  insomuch  that,  in 
some  cases  where  such  aid  had  been  rendered,  it  had  been 
voluntarily  relinquished  by  the  recipients,  needy  though 
they  were,  as  a  damage  rather  than  a  benefit.  While,  there- 
fore, we  are  convinced  that  the  American  Home  Missionary 
Society,  without  a  change  of  pojicy,  is  essentially  unable, 
even  if  it  were  disposed,  to  perform  our  work,  we  desire 
still  to  cherish  towards  it  the  sentiments  of  kindness  and 
good  will,  which,  with  some  of  us,  date  back  to  its  organ- 
ization, and  even  before  ;  for  some  of  us  aided  in  its  forma- 
tion. Most  of  the  numbers  of  the  Southern  Aid  Society 
are,  and  long  have  been,  supporters  of  the  American  Home 
Missionary  Society  ;  and  some  of  them  are  among  its  largest 
contributors.  They  expect  to  aid  -it  still.  They  rejoice  in 
its  efficient  labors  at  the  North  and  West,  and  hope,  in  some 
measure,  to  supply  its  lack  of  service  at  the  South  and 
South-West.  The  wJioIe  countrij  is  our  field.  In  so  far  as 
it  is  occupied  by  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society, 
we  gladly  co-operate.  Where  that  Society  pauses  or  falters, 
there  the  Southern  Aid  Society  begins  its  separate  action, 
and  thence  proceeds.  Thus,  between  the  two,  if  Providence 
smiles  upon  our  efiorts,  the  whole  of  our  beloved  country 
will  be  cared  for  and  aided,  according  to  the  measure  of  the 
benefactions  of  the  churches." 

4» 


1S49-30 

1850-1 

18J1-2 

18.52-3 

301 

311 

305 

313 

228 

224 

213 

215 

15 

15 

14 

12 

488 

515 

533 

547 

46  MINISTRY    OF    DR.  STILES. 

"In  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society's  Annual 
Reports,  the  ministers  or  missionaries  aided,  are  classed 
under  the  heads  of  New  England,  Middle,  Southern,  and 
Wi stern  Stales.  The  number  so  aided,  for  a  few  years 
past,  in  each  of  tliese  geographical  divisions,  according  to 
said  Reports,  is  as  follows  : 

15)48-3 

Kew  England  States,  302 
Middle  do  239 

Southern  do  15 

Western  do  463 

Total,  1,019      1,032      1,065      1,065      1,087 

"  The  largest  number  aided  in  the  Southern  States,  in 
any  one  of  the  last  five  years,  is  15.  It  is  proper,  however, 
toVeniark,  thatin  this  (not  unusual)  classification,  Kentucky 
and  Tenessee,  as  well  as  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  are  ranked 
as  Western  States.  Delaware  and  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia are  included  among  the  Middle  States.  In  all  the 
slave-holding  States,  including  the  District  of  Columbia, 
the  Society  aided  an  aggregate  of  ^j&  ministers  or  mission- 
aries, 30  of  whom  resided  in  Missouri,  and  nearly  all  the 
rest  in  other  States  bordering  upon  free  territory.  In  all 
the  wow-slave-hoiding  States,  the  Society  aided  1,031  minis- 
ters or  missionaries;  being  more  than  eighteen  times  as 
many  as  in  the  slave  holding  States.  In  Maryland,  South 
Carolina,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana  and  Texas,  com- 
prising, according  to  the  last  census,  a  population  of  2,675,- 
h29  souls,  and  an  area  of  424,032  square  miles,  the  Society, 
last  year,  aided  not  a  single  minister  or  missionary.  In 
Georgia,  Alabama  and  Arkansas,  with  an  aggregate  popu- 
lation of  1,887,309  souls,  and  an  area  of  160,920  square 
miles,  it  aided  only  three  ministers  or  missionaries,  one  in 
each  State. 

"  Without'going  further  into  particulars,  is  it  extravagant 
or  unkind  to  say,  that  the  A.  II.  M.S.  is  not  accomplishing  in 
the  Southern  and  South-Westeru  States,  all  that  might  be 
reasonably  expected  from  its  national  designation — much 
less  all  that  is  demanded  by  the  immensity  of  the  field, 


MINISTRY    OF    DR.   STILES.  47 

(844,144  square  miles,  equal  to  108  such  States  as  Massa- 
chusetts,) the  greatness  of  its  population,  (9,663,997  souls,) 
or  tlie  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved,  both  for  this 
world  and  the  next?  And  if  such  be  the  fact,  need  we  any 
apology  before  a  Christian  people,  for  attempting,  as  God 
shall  enable  us,  to  occupy  that  most  important  and  too  long 
neglected  missionary  field,  and  to  turn  in  that  direction 
some  portion  of  the  zeal,  effort,  contributions  and  prayers, 
of  the  denominations  with  which  we  are  connected.  Pre- 
cisely this  is  the  object  of  the  Southern  Aid  Society." 

"  We  commend  it  to  all  who  love  the  Church  and  the 
nation, — God  and  man.  We  dedicate  it  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ, — God  and  man,  the  Head  of  the  Church  and  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  And  here  we  register  our  prayer, 
that  its  spirit  may  ever  be  Christian  only,  to  all  classes, 
and  especially  to  Christian  brethren;  that  its  management 
may  soon  win  tiie  conlidence  of  all  Christian  Societies  toil- 
ing in  the  same  cause  ;  and  that  its  work  may  thus  be  en- 
tered up,  on  the  grand  final  record  of  the  earth  :— The 
SouTHKRN  Aid  Society,— in  the  Service  of  God, — 
THE  Supply  of  the  Needy, — Salvation  to  the  Lost." 

Notwithstanding  the  strong  attachment  of  Dr. 
Stiles  to  his  church  and  congregation,  and  his  deep 
interest  in  their  welfare,  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  accept 
the  General  Agency  of  the  new  Society,  at  least  in 
part,  and  it  was  finally  arranged  that  he  should  de- 
vote one  half  his  time  to  said  Society,  and  the  other 
half  to  his  church  in  New  Ha,ven.  This  made  it 
necessary  that  regular  assistance  should  be  provided 
for  the  supply  of  the  pulpit  in  his  absence,  instead 
of  depending,  as  had  hitherto  been  done,  upon  casual 
engagements.  Accordingly,  three  difterent  clergymen, 
who  occupied  the  position  of  Pastors  in  as  many 
churches,  were  successively  invited  to  this  field  as 


48  MINISTRY    OF    DR.  STILES. 

Associate  Stated  Supply  ;  "but  they  all  successively 
declined/  althougli  they  had  severally  given  us  every 
reason  to  expect  their  acceptance  of  our  invitation. 
In  giving  such  encouragement,  they  were  doubtless 
sincere,  and  spake  as  they  meant.  But  the  fact  that 
they  were  wanted  here,  made  them  more  highly  valued 
by  their  people  at  home,  who  accordingly  rallied  around 
them,  increased  their  salaries,  paid  up  arrearages,  and 
otherwise  manifested  so  much  kindness  and  affection, 
that  their  Pastors  could  not  leave  then.  In  announ- 
cing to  his  people  the  third  of  these  successive  disap- 
pointments. Dr.  Stiles  complimented  them  on  their 
money-power  [they  were  generally  poor]  ;  remarking 
that  they  not  only  paid  a  liberal  salary  to  their  own 
minister,  but  had  raised  the  salaries  of  three  other 
ministers,  and  how  many  more  he  could  not  say.  In 
this  state  of  things.  Dr.  Stiles  deeming  it  of  great 
importance  that  he  should  enter  upon  his  new  work 
without  further  delay,  Kev,  Gurdon  W.  Noyes,  a 
graduate  of  Union  Theological  Seminary,  who  for 
two  or  three  years  had  ministered  to  a  church  in 
Portsmouth,  Va.,  and  more  recently  to  a  church  in 
Cornwall,  Vt.,  was  engaged  as  temporary  Supplj^, 
commencing  his  labors  on  tlie  2d  of  April,  1854. 
This  engagement  terminated  on  the  4th  of  June  fol- 
lowing. On  that  day,  after  the  forenoon  service,  the 
church  and  congregation  tarried,  by  request  of  Dr. 
Stiles,  and  on  motion  it  was 

*•  Votcil,  That  we  cordially  approve  of  (he  oniployment  of 
Rev.  Gr.  W.  Noyes  as  Associate  with  Dr.  Stiles  in  the  niin- 
ir^try  of  this  chnrch  and  congregation." 


MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES.  49 

On  the  25th  of  June,  in  the  same  year,  Mr.  Noyes 
commenced  his  labors  in  the  new  relation.  Under  this 
arrangement  aftairs  moved  on  quietly,  without  any 
thing  very  noticeable  to  record,  (the  two  ministers 
cooperating  when  Dr.  Stiles  was  present,  and  when 
he  was  absent,  Mr.  Noyes  performing  all  the  duties  of 
the  ministry,)  until  Sabbath  evening,  Nov.  15th, 
1857,  when  Dr.  Stiles,  finding  his  whole  time  and 
energies  required  in  behalf  of  the  new  Society,  ten- 
dered his  resignation  in  full  as  Stated  Supply  of  the 
South  Church.  Whereupon  the  following  preamble 
and  resolutions  were  presented  and  adopted  : 

"  Whereas,  The  Southern  Aid  Society  having  extended 
an  earnest  request  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles,  the  Stated  Pastor 
of  this  church  and  congregation,  that  he  will  devote  his 
whole  time  to  the  interests  of  that  Society,  and  learning 
from  Dr.  Stiles  that  it  will  be  in  accordance  with  his  views 
of  duty  to  accede  to  this  request :  Therefore, 

"Resolved,  1st.  That  this  Church  acknowledge  the  princi- 
ple to  be  of  sacred  obligation,  for  every  servant  of  God  to 
take  that  post  of  duty  which  will  give  him  the  widest  sphere 
of  influence. 

"2d.  That  in  the  request  made  by  the  Southern  Aid  So* 
ciety  for  the  entire  services  of  Dr.  Stiles,  we  i-ecognize  his 
call  to  an  extensive  sphere  of  Christian  labor,  which,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  he  is  peculiarly  fitted  to  occupy. 

•'  3d,  That  while  we  highly  appreciate  the  services  of 
Dr.  Stiles  as  our  Stated  Pastor,  and  he  enjoys  our  unabated 
confidence  and  esteem,  we  do  approve  of  his  acceding  to 
the  request  of  the  Southern  Aid  Society,  believing  it  to  be 
a  call  from  our  Divine  Master,  for  him  to  work  in  another 
part  of  His  vineyard," 

Thus  was  terminated  a  connection  which  to  many 
of  his  people  was  fraught  with  inestimable  blessings, 


50  MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES. 

and  which  afforded  to  thousands  not  belonging  to  his 
immediate  congregation,  and  many  of  them  from  dis- 
tant places,  opportunity  to  hear  the  words  of  life  and 
salvation  from  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the 
age.  And  although  now  a  wall  of  separation  is  built 
up  between  his  former  people  and  himself,  so  that 
neither  he  can  come  to  them  nor  they  go  to  him,  yet 
they  have  the  assurance  in  their  own  hearts  that  such 
of  them  as  are  true  believers,  will  soon  meet  him  in 
a  world  where  wars  and  fightings  and  alienations  are 
known  no  more. 

Dr.  Stiles  left  his  people  at  a  most  interesting 
period,  when  the  wave  of  religious  revival  which 
commenced  in  the  Fulton  street  Prayer  Meeting  and 
afterwards  spread  over  a  great  part  of  the  land,  had 
begun  to  flow,  and  had  already,  in  its  incipient  in- 
fluences, reached  New  Haven,  The  experienced  ship- 
master does  not  more  clearly  foresee  the  coming  storm, 
than  Dr.  Stiles  discerned  in  advance  the  signs  of  those 
times.  Several  weeks  anterior  to  the  date  of  his 
resignation,  he  remarked  to  the  present  writer  that 
he  believed  we  were  on  the  eve  of  one  of  the  greatest 
revivals  ever  known.  He  alluded  to  the  manifesta- 
tions of  a  pervading  religious  feeling  in  New  York, 
Newark  and  other  places,  and  expressed  his  belief 
that  it  was  the  precursor  of  events  which  would  make 
heaven  and  earth  rejoice. 


CHAPTER  III. 


MINISTRY  OP  REV.  MR.  XOTES. 

On  the  29th  of  November,  1857,  the  South  Church 
passed  the  following  resolution  : 

''Resolved,  That  Rev.  G.  W.  Noyes,  late  Associate  Pastor 
with  Kev.  Dr.  Stiles,  be  requested  to  act  as  Stated  Pastor 
until  we  can  determine  upon  more  definite  arrangements." 

December  Ist,  Mr.  Noyes  accepted  the  invitation. 
Dec.  27th,  the  following  minute  was  presented  by  the 
Committee  and  adopted  by  the  Church, 

"Having  been  informed  that  the  Ecclesiastical  Society 
recently  organized*  in  connection  with  this  church,  have 
voted  to  offer  Kev.  G.  W.  Noyes  a  salary  of  S1350  per 
annum  for  his  ministerial  services,  this  church  do  hereby 
request  the  Society  to  unite  with  them  in  a  common  invita- 
tion to  Rev.  G.  W.  Noyes  to  become  their  Pastor." 

Januaiy  1,  1858,  Mr.  Noyes  declined. 

January  16th,  the  Church,  in  concurrence  •with  the 
Society,  voted  to  engage  his  services  as  Stated  Supply 
until  Spring  ;  which  they  had  previously  learned 
would  be  agreeable  to  him.  April  10th,  1858,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Church  duly  warned,  and  held  in  the 
Pastor's  study,  the  call  to  Mr.  Noyes  to  become  their 
Pastor,  was  renewed,  w^ith  a  salary  of  $1500.     The 

*  The  Ecclesiastical  Society  was  organized  Dec.  5,  1857.  See  Ap- 
pendix. 


52  MINISTRY  OF  REV.  MR.  NOTES. 

Society  concurred.  April  18th,  Mr.  Noyes  accepted 
the  invitation.  Accordingly,  an  Ecclesiastical  Coun- 
cil, called  by  the  parties  jointly,  was  held  on  the 
24th  of  May,  in  the  South  Church, — the  following 
churches  being  represented,  viz  :  Third,  North,  Col- 
lege Street,  Chapel  Street,  Howe  Street,  Centre,  Yale 
College  Church,  and  South  Church.  Among  other 
papers  submitted  to  the  Council,  was  one  from  the 
Fourth  Presbytery  of  New  York,  certifying  to  Mr. 
Noyes'  good  standing  in  the  church  and  in  the  min- 
istry. The  Council  having  decided  that  the  examin- 
ation and  credentials  of  Mr.  Noyes  were  satisfactory, 
proceeded  to  his  installation  on  the  evening  of  the 
same  day,  in  the  South  Church,  as  follows  : 

Introductory  Services,  by  Eev.  Mr.  Atwater. 

Sermon,  by  Kev.  Dr.  Stiles. 

Installing  prayer,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Cleaveland. 

Charge  to  the  Pastor,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Dutton. 

Right  hand  of  Fellowship,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Hamilton. 

Address  to  the  People,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Eustis. 

Benediction,  by  the  Pastor. 

Thus,  for  the  first  time  since  the  organization  of 
the  church,  it  was  provided  with  a  regularly  installed 
Pastor,  technically  so  called.  The  winter  and  spring 
had  been  a  season  of  special  religious  interest  in  his 
church  and  congregation,  as  well  as  in  other  churches 
of  this  city  and  elsewhere  throughout  the  country. 
It  was  the  season  of  "  the  great  revival."  On  the 
6th  of  June,  1858,  the  fruits  of  it,  so  far  as  the 
South  Church  was  concerned,  were  gathered  in, — 26 


MINISTRY  OF   REV.  MR.  NOYES.  53 

persons  being  received  by  profession,  and  eight  by- 
letter.  Unfortunately,  for  nearly  a  month  (including 
three  successive  Sabbaths)  when  the  revival  was  at 
its  height,  our  minister  was  absent  at  the  West. 
The  Deacons  and  other  members  did  what  they  could 
to  direct  inquiring  souls  to  Christ ;  but  it  was  felt  to 
be  a  calamity,  that  in  our  time  of  greatest  need,  we 
were  left  destitute  of  ministerial  aid,  except  as  the 
pulpit  was  supplied  by  neighboring  ministers  on  the 
Sabbath. 

Occasionally,  after  Mr.  Noyes  became  sole  Pastor, 
Dr.  Stiles,  whose  family  still  resided  in  this  city,  was 
invited  to  occupy  his  former  pulpit.  It  was  jnirely 
a  "labor  of  love,"  without  any  visible  motive  but  a 
desire  to  do  good,  and  gratify  his  old  friends  in  the 
Church  and  congregation,  to  whom  his  voice  was 
always  welcome.  His  official  duties  as  General  Agent 
of  the  Southern  Aid  Society  kept  him  more  and 
more  away  from  the  city,  and  about  the  close  of 
1859,  one  of  the  members  of  the  South  Church, 
learning  that  he  was  about  to  be  absent  several 
mouths,  very  innocently  suggested  to  Mr.  Noyes  the 
I)ropriety  of  inviting  him  to  give  us  a  sermon  before 
his  departure.  The  tenor  of  Mr.  Noyes'  reply  will 
be  gathered  from  the  following  letter,  dated 

New  Haven,  Dec.  24,  1859. 
Rev.  G.  ^y.  Noyes, 

Ml/  dear  Sir : — Your  favor  of  the  14th  inst.  reveals  a 
state  of  things  in  our  Church  and  society  which  is  much  to 
be  regretted.     I  have  taken  a  little  time  to  consider  it. 

5 


54  MINISTRY  OF   REV.  MR.  NOYES. 

The  case  is  Ibis :  On  the  12th  inst.  I  ventured  to  sug- 
gest to  you,  that  as  Dr.  Stiles  was  about  to  leave  this  part 
of  the  country,  and  to  be  absent  several  months,  many  of 
his  former  people  would  be  gratified  to  hear  him  preach 
"  at  least  once,"  before  his  departure.  You  reply  in  sub- 
stance, that  you  "  have  no  personal  objections  to  such  an 
arrangement,"  but  that  "  many  of  the  people  have  :"  That 
some  have  impliedly  or  indirectly  found  fault  with  you  for 
inviting  him  to  i)reach  so  often  already ;  and  have  said  that 
if  it  continued,  they  should  have  to  go  elsewhere:  That 
the  last  time  he  preached,  a  number  of  the  choir  left,  and  the 
remainder  tarried  reluctantly,  as  a  matter  of  respect  and 
duty  :  That  others,  on  coming  to  the  Church  and  learning 
that  he  was  in  the  pulpit,  went  away  elsewhere.  In  this 
condition  of  things  you  are  pleased  to  ask  my  opinion  as  to 
the  course  most  expedient  for  you  to  pursue.  I  will  answer 
with  all  frankness,  expecting  you,  after  all,  and  wishing  you, 
to  exercise  your  undoubted  right  "  to  invite  whomsoever 
you  clioose,  to  occupy  your  pulpit."  But  before  I  proceed, 
allow  me  to  dispose  of  two  or  three  preliminaries.     And 

1.  As  to  the  frequency  of  your  inviting  Dr.  Stiles  to 
preach.  According  to  the  best  of  my  recollection  and  belief, 
he  has  preached  in  our  Church  but — [Here  is  a  blank  in  the 
rough  draft  from  which  we  copy,  but  on  referring  to  a  relia- 
ble record,  we  find  that  within  the  previous  fifteen  months 
Dr.  Stiles  had  preached  in  the  South  Church  five  sermons; 
one  of  them  during  Mr.  Noyes'  absence  on  his  annual  vaca- 
tion, when  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  the  Society's  Com- 
mittee.] 

2.  ^Notwithstanding  the  drawbacks  of  which  you  speak, 
is  it  not  true  that  even  now  the  audiences  are  larger  w]ie7i 
the  j^uhlic  are  auarc  that  he  is  to  preach,  than  at  other 
times? 

3.  Have  not  some  persons,  including  some  members  of 
the  Church,  left  us,  and  gone  to  other  Churches,  under  an 
impression  that  he  has  been  discourteously  treated. 

And  what  is  the  demand  of  the  class  of  persons  of  whom 
you  speak  ?  What  is  the  condition  on  which  they  will  con- 
sent to  remain  with  us  and  be  quiet?  It  is  simply  this; 
that  the  great  and  good  man  who  laid  the  foundation  of  our 


MINISTRY  OF    REV.  MR.  NOYES.  55 

spiritual  edifice  in  faith  and  prayer, — such  prayer,  and  such 
holy  \vrestlin*2:3  as  I  never  before  lieard  from  the  lips  of 
man;  who  dedicated  our  sanctuary  to  Almighty  God,  Fa- 
ther, Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  so  doing,  on  the  very 
first  day  of  his  ministrations,  sent  an  arrow  of  conviction 
to  the  heart  of  an  infidel  and  atheist,  which  was  never  ex- 
tracted until  he  found  joy  and  peace  in  believing ;  whose 
eloquent,  faithful,  pungent  words  of  love  and  warning 
aroused  the  slumbering  community  around  to  the  interests 
of  the  soal  and  eternity, — filled  the  house  with  profoundly 
attentive  audiences,  larger  on  an  average,  in  the  afternoon, 
(when  he  was  expected  to  preach,)  than  tiiose  of  any  other 
sanctuary  of  our  denomination  in  the  city;  who  gathered 
our  Church,  drew  up  our  Covenant  and  Confesssion  of  Faith, 
instituted  or  gave  tone  to  our  Ladies'  Meeting,  making  it  a 
centre  of  attraction  to  the  whole  neighborhood,  and  to  many 
ladies  in  other  parts  of  the  city ;  who  was  the  instrument, 
in  the  judgment  of  charity,  of  bringing  scores  of  persons  to 
Christ,  including  many  individuals  residing  out  of  the  city  ; 
who  was  the  means,  my  dear  Sir,  of  //our  coming  to  New 
Haven  and  holding  the  position  you  now  occupy,  and  who, 
as  the  whole  congregation  can  bear  witness,  treated  you 
with  uniform  courtesy  in  all  our  public  assemblies;  and  who 
to  this  day,  although  olEcially  separated  from  us  by  calls  to 
other  fields  of  labor,  does  still  often  and  earnestly  remember 
us  in  his  prayers,  and  is  ready  to  serve  us,  in  any  way  con- 
sistent with  his  other  duties  and  our  wishes ;  I  say  the  class 
of  persons  of  whom  you  speak,  if  I  rightly  understand  their 
views,  require  tiiat  this  holy  man,  who  has  done  so  mucli 
for  us,  shall  be  deliberately  and  permanently  excluded  from 
tiie  pnlpit  which  he  so  long  and  faithfully  occupied.  The 
question  is  not,  as  I  understand  it,  whether  he  shall  be 
invited  to  occupy  the  pulpit  at  this  time,  but  at  any  time. 
The  object  seems  to  be,  to  fix  a  stigma  upon  him — to  pro- 
scribe him ;  for  what  reason  I  do  not  know,  I  am  not 
aware  that  he  has  done  anything  to  forfeit  the  confidence  of 
the  Church  and  Society — nmch  less  their  Christian  courtesy. 
True,  he  was  born  South  of  Mason's  and  Dixon's  line,  has 
written  a  book,  and  has  been  an  officer  of  tlie  Southern  Aid 
Society,  whose  object  is  simply  and  only  to  dispense  the 


56  MINISTRY  OF    EEV.  MR.  NOTES, 

Gospel  of  Clirist  to  ten  millions  of  people,  including  tiiree 
and  a  half  millions  of  slaves,  from  whom  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society  has  withdrawn  its  aid.  But  I 
do  not  perceive  that  either  of  these  facts,  or  all  of  them 
together,  constitute  a  just  ground  of  offence  to  a  Christian 
congregation. 

Viewing  the  matter  in  this  light,  I  scarcely  need  add, 
that  I  can  never  be  a  party  to  such  proscription,  either 
actively  or  passively.  If  my  own  personal  gratification 
were  alone  involved,  I  would  cheerfully  forego  that  gratifi- 
cation for  the  sake  of  peace.  But  if  peace  can  be  had,  only 
on  the  condition  of  sacrificing  a  great  and  good  man,  of 
whom  the  world  is  not  worthy,  to  the  moloch  of  ultra 
Abolitionism,  and  of  surrendering  those  noble  edifices,  that 
pulpit,  and  the  institutions  connected  therewith,  to  the  pro- 
motion of  the  same  proscriptive  and  malignant  spirit,  then 
in  my  judgment  the  purchase  is  too  dear,  and  I  prefer  to 
meet  the  issue  as  it  stands.  I  well  know  that  as  a  member 
of  the  Church  and  congregation,  I  have  no  more  control 
over  the  action  of  eitlier,  than  has  the  obscurest  of  our 
members.  I  am  willing  it  should  be  so.  And  you  will  bear 
me  witness  that  I  have  never  sought  to  encroach  upon  the 
rights  of  the  pulpit.  At  the  same  time  I  have  some  riglits 
peculiar  to  myself.  1  have  expended  more  than  $50,000 
upon  the  South  Church  enterprise,  in  the  erection  and  fur- 
nishing of  the  buildings,  and  in  supporting,  in  part,  the 
expenses  of  the  establishment  for  the  last  seven  years.  I 
have  never,  for  a  single  moment,  regretted  the  expenditure. 
On  the  contrary,  I  am  ready  to  expend  $50,000  more,  if 
necessary,  ty  carry  out  the  objects  of  the  enterprise  as 
originally  contemplated.  What  those  objects  arc,  you  were 
early  apprised ;  and  your  acceptance  of  the  station  which 
you  now  occupy,  is  proof  that,  substantially,  they  met  your 
a])probation.  What  they  are,  is  evidenced  by  the  history 
of  the  enterprise  thus  far,  in  connection  with  the  fact  that 
down  to  this  day  I  have  never  (romplained  of  the  manner  in 
which  they  have  been  carried  out.  But  if  a  now  order  of 
things  is  to  be  introduced;  if  the  mad  spirit  of  ultra  Aboli- 
tionism, which  has  already  divided  so  nuniy  churches,  greatly 
damaged  the  interests  of  the  slave,  and  brought  our  country 


MINISTRY  OF    REV,  MR.  NOYES.  57 

to  the  brink  of  ruin,  is  to  be  infused  into  our  church  and  to 
become  dominant  in  its  management, — which  I  do  not  be- 
lieve,  though  I  thus  speak, — I  have  only  to  say,  I  shall 
want  the  buildings  for  their  original  purpose,  and  my  money 
to  sustain  the  enterprise  on  that  basis. 

It  is  but  a  few  months  since  Ilev.  Dr.  Bacon,  seeing  Dr. 
Stiles  in  his  congregalion,  came  down  from  the  pulpit,  and 
in  the  most  cordial  manner  invited  him  to  preach, — which 
he  did.  Are  the  South  Church  and  congregation  so  much 
more  intolerant  than  Dr.  Bacon  and  his  congregation,  as  the 
facts  stated  in  your  letter  would  seem  to  imply?  I  doubt 
it.  I  should  like  to  see  the  experiment  tried.  I  believe 
that  a  fair  expression  of  the  views  of  our  people  would 
show  that  they  are  generally  conservative,  and  that  the 
class  of  persons  to  whom  you  allude,  are  in  a  lean  minority. 

From  what  I  have  said,  you  are  prepared  for  my  opinion, 
which  is,  that  such  intolerance,  discourtesy  and  ingratitude, 
towards  a  faithful  soldier  of  the  Cross,  as  would  be  exem- 
plified in  his  exclusion  from  our  pulpit,  for  no  assigned 
cause,  but,  so  far  as  appears,  to  gratify  an  unreasonable  and 
cruel  prejudice,  should  not  be  yielded  to, — no,  not  for  an 
hour.  Three  or  four  years  ago,  a  few  disafi"ected  persons, 
of  the  same  class,  left  us  in  disgust,  and  we  have  had  peace 
ever  since.  If  those  who  now  threaten  to  leave,  unless 
their  wishes  are  complied  with,  should  do  so  in  fact,  the 
probability  is  that  the  church  and  society  will  be  stronger, 
happier,  safer  and  better  in  the  end,  than  by  retaining  tliem 
within  its  bosom.  I  know  not  who  they  are ;  I  am  glad  I 
do  not.  But  whoever  they  are,  however  many  or  however 
few,  I  cannot  advise  an  act  of  palpaljle  injustice  and  wrong, 
for  the  sake  of  retaining  them.  Let  us  i)rotect  and  honor 
God's  faithful  ministers,  and  he  will  protect  and  bless  us. 
As  to  temporalities  I  have  no  fear.  And  I  am  sure  no 
spiritual  blessing  can  be  expected  as  the  result  of  proscrip- 
tion such  as  is  sought  to  be  imposed  upon  us. 

Should  you,  all  things  considered,  conclude  to  invito  Dr. 
Stiles  into  your  pulpit  once  before  he  goes  South,  permit 
me  to  suggest  that  a  ii(»tice  of  the  fact  be  given  in  the 
niiWspapiMs.  Then  any  who  are  unwilling  to  hear  him,  can 
stay  away,  and  thus  avoid  the  indecorum  of  leaving  the 

5* 


58  MINISTRY  OF    REV.  MR.  XOYES, 

house.  As  to  the  choir,  or  a  portion  of  tliem,  they  must  do 
as  they  tliink  proper.  Tor  one,  I  wouhl  rather  dispense  with 
singing  than  yield  to  such  dictation.  What  is  it,  in  ejafcct, 
but  surrendering  the  pulpit  to  their  control ;  or  at  least, 
giving  them  a  veto  upon  the  action  of  the  pastor?  I  pro- 
test against  such  an  invasion  of  his  rights. 

In  conclusion,  permit  me  to  say,  that  at  tliis  time  espe- 
cially, any  manifest  slur  upon  a  good  man  merely  because 
he  is  a  Southerner  by  birth,  would  be  most  unfortunate  in 
its  public  bearing ;  and  occurring  in  a  church  which  has 
been  generally  supposed  to  be  conservative,  and  is  known 
as  such  all  over  the  South,  would  have  a  very  bad  effect 
upon  the  public  mind  in  that  part  of  the  country,  which  is 
in  an  excited  and  dangerous  state.  Do  let  us  try  to  pour  a 
little  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters,  and  not  let  our  glorious 
constellation  go  down  in  blood. 
I  remain  with  much  respect. 

Your  friend  and  parisliioner, 

GERARD  IIALLOCK. 

P.  S.  I  have  said  nothing  to  Dr.  Stiles  about  this  whole 
matter.  He  does  not  know  from  me,  that  any  correspond- 
ence has  taken  place  between  us. 

On  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  and  after  consultation 
with  some  of  his  members,  Mr.  Noyes  concluded  to 
invite  Dr.  Stiles  to  preach,  as  proposed,  and  did  invite 
him.  Public  notice  was  given  in  the  newspapers,  and 
on  the  8th  of  January,  1860,  Dr.  Stiles  preached  to 
a  very  large  and  apparently  gratified  audience.  The 
choir  was  as  full  as  usual,  and  no  j^ersons  left  the 
house,  tliat  we  are  aware  of,  until  the  services  were 
concluded.  This  is  the  last  sermon  but  one  that  Dr. 
Stiles  ever  preached  in  the  South  Church. 

The  whole  period  of  Mr.  Noyes'  ministry  in  con- 
nection with  the  South  Church,  was  a  little  more 


MINISTRY  OF    REV.  MR.  NOTES.  59 

than  seven  years  ;  or  gay  from  April  2,  1854,  till 
June  3,  1861.  During  the  last  half  of  this  period, 
or  say  from  Nov.  15,  1857,  till  the  close  of  his  labors, 
as  above,  he  had  the  sole  charge  of  the  Church  and 
congregation.  Either  to  accompany  or  follow  such  a 
man  as  Dr.  Stiles,  was  obviously  a  difficult  under- 
taking. The  wonder  is,  that  Mr.  Noyes  was  able  to 
sustain  himself  so  long  and  so  well  as  he  did,  rather 
than  that  he  finally  failed  to  give  satisfaction  to  a 
people,  who,  in  the  language  of  one  of  the  other  cler- 
gymen of  the  city,  had  been  "spoiled  by  Dr.  Stiles;" 
meaning,  that  the  South  Church  people  had  been 
so  accustomed  to  hear  the  powerful  preaching  of 
Dr.  Stiles,  that  no  minister  of  ordinary  talents  and 
resources  could  expect  to  satisfy  them.  On  the  15th 
of  May,  1861,  Mr.  Noyes  tendered  his  resignation, 
as  follows  : — 

To  the  iioufh  Congregational    C/iurc/i,  New  Haven,  Co7in. 

Dear  Brethrkn  : — 

Learning  tliat  a  small,  yet  influential  minority  among 
you,  liave  recently  become  disaffected  towards  me,  so  as  se- 
riously to  interfere  with  my  comfort  and  usefulness,  I  felt 
it  to  be  my  duty  to  resign  my  ehargc;  and  do  herewith  re- 
sign it,  to  take  effect  on  the  3d  of  next  June;  and  request 
you  to  unite  with  me  in  calling  an  Ecclesiastical  Council 
to  meet  on  that  day  in  said  church,  at  half  past  3  o'clock, 
to  dissolve  the  relation  existing  between  us. 

GURDOX   W.  NOYES. 

New  Haven,  May  15th,  1861. 

As  usual  in  such  cases,  difierent  persons  would  give 
different  versions  of  the  causes  which  led  to  this  re- 


60  MINISTRY  OF    REV.  MR.  NOTES. 

suit.  Perhaps  the  most  impartial  statement  which 
can  be  had  at  this  time,  is  the  Report  of  the  Stand- 
ins'  Committee,  submitted  to  the  Church  at  a  meet- 
infi-  held  on  the  24th  of  the  same  month,  to  consider 
the  above  communication.  Said  Committee  consisted 
of  Charles  H.  Warner,  Dr.  John  Nicoll,  and  R.  S. 
Pickett,  elected  members,  and  Deacons  Minor  and 
Horsfall,  together  with  the  Pastor,  members  ex-officio. 
Of  tlie  five  lay  members,  three  belonged  to  that  wing 
of  the  Church  which  has  since  broken  off  from  the 
main  body,  and  two  of  them  (Dr.  Nicoll  and  Mr. 
Pickett)  were  among  the  warmest  friends  Mr.  Noyes 
had  in  the  Church.  The  Report  of  that  Committee 
was  as  follows  : — 

Explanatory  Statement  from  the  Committee  of  the  Church. 
"  It  is  well  known  to  most  of  the  members  of  the  Church, 
that  within  the  past  year,  and  more  particularly  within  the 
])ast  six  months,  the  attendance  on  our  Sab])ath  services 
and  the  other  regular  weekly  meotiugs  of  the  Church,  has 
seemed  to  be  graduully  diminishing.  Notice  has  been  ta- 
ken of  this  by  the  Pastor  and  the  Committee  of  the  Church, 
and  by  other  members.  Conversation  on  the  subject,  and 
inquiry  as  to  its  cause,  revealed  the  fact  that  many  mem- 
bers of  the  CHiuroh  and  congregation  were  in  the  habit  of 
frettucntly  going  to  the  meetings  of  other  churches,  and 
that  a  considerable  number  of  the  regular  and  constant  at- 
tendants on  the  meetings  of  our  own  Church, — including 
those  ui)ou  whose  liberality  the  enterprise  has  mainly  rest- 
ed for  its  support, — were  stron^dy  imi)ressed  with  the  con- 
viction that  this  enterprise  could  not  l)e  carried  forward  suc- 
cessfully under  the  ministrations  of  our  present  I'astor. 
This  led  to  some  informal  consultations  on  the  subject, 
which  resulted  in  a  communication  of  the  facts,  as  they 
were  then  understood,  to  Mr.  Noycs,  by  the  Committee  of 
the  Chunh. 


MINISTRY  OF    REV.  MR.  NOYES.  61 

"While  it  was  obviously  impossible  for  Mr.  Noyes  to 
continue  his  laljors  with  satisfaction  under  such  circum- 
stances, it  was  felt  that  a  separation,  if  it  must  take  place, 
should  be  made  in  a  manner  that  would  do  least  injury  to 
our  minister's  reputation,  and  to  the  welfare  and  peace  of 
the  Church.  In  this  point  of  view,  it  was  considered  bet- 
ter for  Mr.  Noyes  that  he  should  tender  his  resignation  he- 
fore,  rather  than  after  a  public  meeting  for  the  discussion 
of  the  subject.  Hence,  no  public  meeting  has  before  been 
called. 

"It  was  also  considered  equitable  that  Mr.  Noyes  should 
receive  sacisfactory  pecuniary  compensation  for  the  disad- 
vantage to  himself  and  family  of  leaving  his  charge  under 
such  cireumstances;  and  arrangements  have  therefore  been 
made,  satisfactory  to  Mr.  N.,  by  which,  in  case  his  resigna- 
tion is  accepted,  he  is  to  receive  a  donation  of  $500." 

After  some  discussion,  tlie  following  resolution  was 
adopted  by  the  Church,  with  only  five  dissentients, 
including  two  who  did  not  vote  on  either  side. 

"  Resolved,  That  in  accordance  with  the  expressed  desire 
of  Rev.  G.  W.  Noyes,  we  hereby  accept  his  resignation  as 
Pastor,  while  we  regret  that  circumstances  have  made  it 
appear  necessary  for  him  to  leave  us  and  sunder  the  ties  of 
pleasant  and  profitable  intercourse  which,  for  a  period  of 
seven  years,  most  of  us  have  enjoyed  with  him." 

The  Church  also  voted  to  unite  with  Mr.  Noyes  in 
calling  an  Ecclesiastical  Council.  Said  Council  was 
held  in  the  South  Church,  June  3d,  1861  ;  and  com- 
prised delegates  from  the  Centre,  North,  Third,  Chap- 
el street.  College  street,  and  Yale  College  Church. 
The  result  was  embodied  in  the  following  Resolu- 
tions, prq)ared  by  Rev.  Dr.  Dutton,  and  Rev.  Messrs. 
Eustis  and  Fisher,  which  the  Council  adopted  unan- 
imously : — 


62  MINISTRY  OF    REV.  MR.  NOYES. 

"Resolved,  That  while,  in  compliance  with  his  own  deci- 
ded wish,  we  consent  to  the  separation  of  Mr.  Noyes  from 
his  charge,  we  bear  our  united  testimony  to  the  ability, 
faithfulness  and  success,  as  a  Pastor  and  preacher,  which 
have  characterized  his  labors  in  this  place. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  express  our  cordial  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  this  flock  of  Christ,  and  earnestly  pray  the  Great 
Head  of  the  Church  to  send  them  a  successor  to  the  Pastor 
they  have  lost,  who  shall  l)uild  them  up  iu  the  faith  of  the 
Gospel,  and  who  shall  fully  and  fearlessly  declare  and  ap- 
ply all  its  doctrines  and  precepts." 

This  united  prayer  of  the  Council,  we  may  chari- 
tably believe,  lias  been  answered  ;  if  not  exactly  in 
the  way  intended, — in  a  much  better  way.  As  "suc- 
cessor to  the  Pastor  we  have  lost,"  God  has  sent  us  a 
man  who  '•'  builds  w^  his  jieo^de  in  the  faith  of  the 
Gospel  ;"  and  who,  if  he  does  not  preach  or  pray 
Abolitionism,  and  blood  up  to  the  horses'  bridles,  if 
necessary  to  accomplish  that  object,  does  preach  and 
pray  wdth  the  angel  choir  which  heralded  the  infant 
Saviour,  "  Peace  on  earth,  good  will  toward  men." 
If  he  does  not  so  "  declare  and  ajijdy  all  the  doctrines 
and  precepts  of  the  Gospel"  as  to  play  into  the  hands 
of  a  political  party  ;  if  he  does  not  preach  election- 
eering sermons  on  the  Sabbath,  just  before  a  Presi- 
dential election  ;  he  does  beat  up  recruits  for  the  Cap- 
tain of  Salvation  ;  he  does  electioneer  for  the  King 
of  kings.  But  the  members  of  the  Council  appear 
not  to  have  been  satisli(;d  with  the  manner  in  which 
their  prayer  was  answered  ;  else  why,  eighteen  months 
afterwards,  did  nearly  the  same  body  of  men,  with 
some  others  added,  attempt  to  reverse  that  answer. 


MINISTRY  OF    REV.  MR.  IS'OYES.  Oo 

by  silencing  or  disjilacing  the  aforesaid  "  successor  ?" 
But  more  of  this  in  the  sequel. 

Mr.  Noyes'  '' Farewell  Sermon"  was  preached  in 
the  South  Church,  June  2,  1861,  being  the  day  before 
his  resignation  was  to  go  into  effect,  and  was  soon 
after  published.  It  was  a  sort  of  stern-chaser,  dis- 
charged upon  his  people  as  he  was  about  to  leave  them. 
He  virtually  admits  the  declining  state  of  the  Church 
and  congregation,  but  attributes  it  mainly  to  the 
people  themselves.  He  tells  how  many  thousand 
calls  he  had  made  (4,449)  during  his  connection  with 
the  South  Church,  how  many  prayers  he  had  offered 
(1,000)  in  the  course  of  those  visits,  and  how  many 
other  good  things  he  had  done.  He  says, — "  During 
the  four  years  of  colleagueship,  I  received  to  the 
Church  one  hundred  by  profession  and  forty- six  by 
letter  ;  and  during  the  three  years  since,  seventy- 
seven, — thirty-six  by  profession  and  forty-one  by  let- 
ter,— making  a  total  of  223."  If  Dr.  Stiles,  in  giving 
an  account  of  his  own  ministry,  should  be  equally 
grasping,  there  would  be  very  little  left  for  Mr.  Noyes. 
He  would  say,  as  Mr.  Noyes  does, — "  During  the 
four  years  of  colleagueship,  1  received  to  the  Church 
one  hundred  by  profession,  and  forty-six  by  letter." 
And  on  the  same  principle  might  he  not  add, — "  JL 
also  sowed  the  seed,  and,  ere  I  left,  saw  the  grain 
spring  up,  which  was  harvested  by  Mr.  Noyes  in  the 
following  June."  If  Dr.  Stiles  should  say  this, — 
which  he  would  be  far  enough  from  doing, — how 
would  it  strike  Mr.  Noyes  ?    Would  he  deem  it  quite 


64  MINISTRY  OF    REV.  MR.  NOYES. 

iliir  and  honorable  for  Dr.  Stiles  to  set  to  his  own 
account  all  tlie  fruits  of  their  joint  labor  "during  the 
four  years  of  colleagueship,"  and  so  leave  nothing  for 
Mr.  Noyes  as  the  result  of  his  three  years'  labor, 
after  the  in-gathering  above  mentioned,  except  nine 
persons  admitted  by  profession,  (an  average  of  three 
-per  annum,)  and  a  less  number  by  certificate  than 
"were  dismissed  during  the  same  period  ?  We  simply 
ask  the  question,  and  according  to  the  answer  given, 
will  be  Mr.  Noyes'  verdict  in  his  own  case,  with  only 
this  variation,  that  "  during  the  four  years  of  col- 
leagueship,"  which  were  in  fact  but  three  years  and  a 
half,  Dr.  Stiles  was  the  principal,  and  Mr.  Noyes  the 
assistant. 

In  dealing  with  his  people,  the  author  of  the  Ser- 
mon was  much  less  exposed  to  be  over-indulgent  and 
partial,  than  in  reviewing  his  own  labors.  Accord- 
ingly he  proceeds  to  "reprove,  rebuke  and  exhort" 
them,  agreeably  to  the  instructions  of  Paul  to  Timo- 
thy, specifying  "  three  things,"  which  he  says  "  have 
already  retarded  the  growth  and  success  of  the  Church, 
and  which,  if  not  corrected,  will  work  more  unfavor- 
ably in  the  future."     They  are  as  follows  : — 

"  1.  There  has  been  an  erroneous  idea  of  the  Pastor's 
work.  Too  much  lias  been  laid  u])(»u  and  expected  of  him." 
Under  this  head  he  asks  : — "  Is  it  not  a  fact  too  patent  to 
be  questioned,  that  upon  him  was  placed  almost  the  entire 
burden  of  the  Church's  affairs  ?  In  addition  to  preaching 
and  visiting,  has  he  not  had  largely  to  sustain  the  Sabbath 
evening  and  weekly  meetings,  and  even  lead  the  singing? 
Has  not  the  oi)inion  found  expression  in  word  as  well  as 
deed,  that  he  was  expected  so  to  preach  as  to  fill  the  Church 


MINISTRY  OF  REV.  MR.  NOYES.  G5 

and  keep  up  a  continual  revival  ?  And  by  such  an  atti- 
tude would  not  he  be  disheartened  and  the  Church  par- 
alyzed V 

If  these  questions  are  to  be  answered  in  the  affirm- 
ative, as  they  are  evidently  intended  to  be,  they  add 
Mr.  Noyes'  testimony  to  that  of  the  Committee  as  to 
the  dilapidated  spiritual  condition  of  the  Church  and 
congregation  at  that  period.  It  is  worthy  of  remark, 
that  the  evil  of  which  Mr.  Noyes  complains,  has  not 
always  existed  in  the  South  Church.  It  was  not  so 
under  Dr.  Stiles — it  is  not  so  under  Mr.  Carroll.  On 
the  contrary,  there  are  very  few  churches  within  our 
knowledge,  where  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  male 
members  are  ready  to  be  called  upon  foi*  exhortation 
or  prayer.  How  is  it  in  the  "  Fulton  street  Prayer 
Meetings,"  as  they  are  called,  wdiich  are  now  held 
every  Sabbath  evening  in  the  Chapel  ?  Is  there  any 
difficulty  in  finding  laymen  there  who  are  willing  to 
speak  or  pray  ?  None  whatever.  Numerically  the 
church  is  not  quite  so  large  as  when  Mr.  Noyes  left  ; 
and  yet  the  attendance  on  these  meetings  is  quadru- 
pled, and  the  spirit  of  them  excellent.  How  is  this 
to  be  accounted  for  ?  It  cannot  be  caused  by  the 
return  of  those  "  many  members  of  the  Church  and 
congregation"  who,  under  Mr,  Noyes'  administration, 
according  to  the  Report  of  the  Committee,  "  were  in 
the  habit  of  frequently  going  to  the  meetings  of  other 
churches," — for  they  have  not  returned.  On  the 
contrary,  almost  all  of  them  have  left  us  for  good. 
On  the  whole,  we  know  not  how  to  account  for  the 
6 


G6  MINISTRY    OF  REV.  MR.  NOYES. 

difFerciit  state  of  things  in  tlie  same  congregation 
under  different  ministers,  except  by  attributing  it,  or 
much  of  it,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  ministers 
themselves.  This  is  on  the  supposition  that  the  com- 
])laint  of  Mr.  Noyes  on  this  head  was  well  founded, 
which,  to  the  extent  indicated  by  his  remarks,  we 
must  be  permitted  to  doubt. 

2.  "  A  second  element  of  weakness  and  injury  to  the 
Church,  is  the  neglect  of  wise  discipline." 

Never  until  the  preaching  of  this  Sermon,  did  we 
hear  it  intimated  that  Mr.  Noyes  was  more  ready  to 
administer  "  wise  discipline"  to  delinquent  members, 
than  were  tlie  great  majority  of  his  Church.  We 
had  heard,  that  in  regard  to  two  Scotch  people  whom 
it  was  proposed  to  discipline  on  account  of  the  sale 
and  use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  Mr.  Noyes  objected 
to  doing  it  at  that  time,^  because,  he  said,  the  Scotch 
were  clannish,  and  if  some  of  them  were  offended, 
they  might  all  be,  and  leave.  [A  Scotch  minister 
was  then  preaching  once  or  twice  on  the  Sabbatli  in 
Dr.   Cleaveland's   Lecture  Koom,   and   some  of  our 


*  On  inquiring  of  some  who  were  tlien  members  of  the  Standing 
Committee,  we  learn  that  we  wore  not  misniformed;  and  lliat  in  the 
matter  of  discipline  generally,  Mr.  Noyes  was  certainly  not  in  advance 
of  the  other  members  of  the  Committee  in  his  efforts  to  promote  it. 
According  to  the  rules  of  the  Church,  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the  Stand- 
ing Committee  to  "examine  and  report  on  all  cases  of  discipline."  If 
then  the  Standing  Committee,  (of  which  Mr.  Xoyes  was  ex-officio  a 
member,  and  by  position  the  leading  memlicr,)  did  not  do  their  duty, 
why  reproach  the  Church  f>r  the  Conmiittee's  own  neglect? 


MINISTRY  OF  UEV,  MR.  NOYES.  G7 

Scotch  people  were  in  the  habit  of  attending.]  In 
a  few  months  after  Mr.  Noyes  left  us,  these  two 
persons  were  sus]ienclcd  from  the  privileges  of  the 
Church,  and  afterwards  struck  from  the  list  of 
members  ;  as  were  two  other  persons,  for  similar 
oflfences. 

3.  "A  third  hindrance  to  the  Church,  is  the  unprecedented 
assumption  of  the  nnnority." 

What  that  assumption  is,  or  was,  Mr.  Noyes 
does  not  say  in  so  many  words,  but  leaves  it  to  bo 
inferred  that  the  minority  assumed  to  overrule  the 
majority.  He  says,  "  The  pastoral  relation,  left  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  a  minority,  has  no  security 
whatever,  and  better  never  be  formed.  It  can  be 
sundered  at  the  capriciotis  or  malicious  beck  of  a 
single  individual."  Well,  who  were  the  minority  in 
the  South  Church  ?  Mr.  Noyes'  own  friends  and 
adherents.  What  is  the  proof  that  they  w^ere  in 
the  minority  ?  Their  votes  ;  which  on  the  resolution 
to  accept  his  resignation,  stood  three  or  five*  to  sev- 
enty, as  was  testified  by  the  Chairman  of  the  South 
Church  Committee  before  the  Council  which  dis- 
missed Mr.  Noyes.  But  we  do  not  believe  that  this 
minority,  or  any  other  minority,  claimed  to  overrule 
the  majority.  If  they  did,  we  never  heard  of  it  until 
announced  in  Mr.  Noyes'  Farewell  Sermon.  It  is  too 
absurd  a  position  for  rational  men  to  take.  Un- 
doubtedly the  minority  claimed  a  right  to  speak  to 

*  There  were  three  negative  votes,  and  two  persons  did  not  vote. 


68  MINISTRY  OF  REV.  MR.  NOTES. 

their  brethren  on  affairs  of  common  interest,  and  to 
influence  their  votes  if  they  could  convince  their  judg- 
ments. But  this,  so  far  from  being  an  "  unprece- 
dented assumption,"  is  a  universal  and  just  claim. 
Yet  it  appears  to  be  the  only  basis  for  the  charge 
preferred  by  Mr.  Noyes  under  this  head  ;  for,  in  an- 
other place  (p.  13)  he  says,  "If  the  majority,  after 
being  teased  and  tormented  by  them  [the  minority]  for 
a  time,  should  yield  to  their  unreasonable  demands, 
his  pleasant  and  useful  relation  to  them  would  be 
broken  up,  and  he  set  adiift,  when  he  might  have 
labored  on  successfully  for  years."  So,  after  all, 
there  is  no  assumption  of  power  on  the  part  of  the 
minority  ;  they  only  "  ^ease  and  foiTuent  :"  just  as  a 
fly  leases  and  torments  an  elephant,  until  at  length 
the  noble  animal,  overcome  by  its  importunity,  sur- 
renders at  discretion  ;  and  thus  the  "  small  yet 
influential  minority"  becomes  a  majority.  But  to 
drop  the  figure, — we  know  of  nothing  to  jjrevent  a 
minority,  however  small,  from  endeavoring  to  bring 
the  majority  over  to  its  views  by  sound  argument  or 
undeniable  facts  ;  and  if  successful,  the  presumption 
is,  that  the  minority  were  right,  and  the  majority  wrong. 
In  the  case  before  us,  there  was  no  necessity  for  such 
an  effort  :  for  no  sooner  had  there  been  a  comparison 
of  views,  than  it  was  seen  at  once  that  a  large  major- 
ity were  in  favor  of  a  change.  And  when  the  vote 
was  taken  on  the  acceptance  of  Mr.  Noyes'  resigna- 
tion, it  was,  as  we  said  before,  all  but  imanimous. 
It  was  a  perfectly  free,  fair  and   full  vote  of  the 


MINISTRY  OF  REV.  MR.  NOYES.  69 

Church,  and  was  unanimoiisl)^  sanctioned  by  a  Coun- 
cil composed  entirely  of  men  in  sympathy  with  Mr. 
Noyes  on  all  the  agitating  questions  of  the  day. 
There  was  every  disposition  on  the  part  of  his  people, 
one  and  all,  to  make  the  separation  as  harmless  as 
possible,  both  to  his  ministerial  reputation  and 
to  his  personal  comfort.  With  this  view  they  gave 
him  $500,  and  it  was  in  their  hearts  to  increase  the 
amount  by  voluntary  contributions  at  a  parting 
soiree,  to  be  held  in  the  Ladies'  Parlor  of  the  Chapel ; 
and  at  the  same  time  to  put  forth  expressions  of 
sentiment  which  would  relieve  the  discomfort  felt  on 
all  hands  in  sundering  a  relation  so  sacred  and  so 
long  continued.  Such  a  parting  interview  was  pro- 
posed to  Mr.  Noyes  through  a  Committee,  but  de- 
clined. He  preferred  a  different  course, — and  hence 
these  comments. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  appears  that  each  of 
the  tliree  leading  positions  of  the  Sermon  was  founded 
in  error.  If  not  "  unprecedented  assumptions,"  they 
were  nevertheless  "  assumptions,"  unsustained  by  sub- 
stantial facts. 

There  is  one  good  thing  in  the  Sermon,  where  the 
l)reacher  says  to  his  people,  "  Kindly,  yet  earnestly 
do  I  counsel  you  to  give  to  my  successor  your  sym- 
pathy and  cooperation,  if  you  would  have  new  and 
more  glorious  things  done  for  you  by  his  ministry." 
Some  of  us  are  trying  to  heed  this  wholesome  counsel. 
The  way  the  preacher's  special  friends  have  done  it, 
is  a  caution. 

6* 


70  MINISTRY  OF    REV.  MR.  NOTES. 

Mr.  Noyes  had  not  been  long  disconnected  from 
the  South  Church,  before  he  received  and  accepted 
an  inA'itation  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  a  Church  in 
Fair  Haven,  Conn.,  where  he  still  continues  his 
labors. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MINISTRY  OF  RET.  MR.  CARROLL. 

After  Mr.  Noyes  left  the  South  Church,  its  pulpit 
continued  vacant  for  about  a  year.  In  the  course  of 
that  period,  forty-four  different  clergymen  occupied 
it  successively,  some  of  them  very  able  men,  inclu- 
ding several  pastors  of  churches.  For  a  number  of 
months,  neither  wing  of  the  Church  seemed  disposed 
to  make  any  movement  towards  the  settlement  of 
another  minister.  All  knew  that  there  was  a  lurking 
antagonism  among  the  members,  which  would  be 
likely  to  show  itself  whenever  a  suitable  occasion 
should  occur  to  bring  it  out.  Some  of  them  hoped 
that  time  would  reconcile  differences,  and  for  that 
reason  were  willing  to  wait.  At  length,  on  the  24th 
of  October,  ISGl,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Church,  a  pro- 
position was  made  to  invite  Rev.  J.  Parsons  Hovet, 
D.  D.,  (since  deceased,)  of  the  Eleventh  Presbyterian 
Church  in  New  York,  to  become  our  Pastor  ;  and  on 
the  following  day,  at  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the 
Church,  the  motion  was  adopted.  A  large  majority 
of  the  Church  and  Society  w^ere  in  his  favor  ;  but  a 
few  individuals  objected,  on  the  ground  that  he  was 
disloyal,  a  pro-slavery  man,  and  a  Secessionist ;  or  to 
that  effect.  The  Church  took  the  trouble  to  test  the 
truthfulness  of  these  allegations,  by  sending  their  two 
Deacons  down  to  New  York,  to  inquire  into  the  facts, 


72  MINISTRY    OF    REV.   MR.    CARROLL. 

The  Deacons  called  ujjon  Kev.  Dr.  Thompson,  for- 
merly of  the  Chapel  Street  Church  in  this  city,  Rev. 
Dr.  Hatfield,  Rev.  Dr.  Asa  D.  Smith,  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Coe,  of  the  Am.  Home  Missit)nary  Society,  all  of 
them  strong  anti-slavery  men,  from  whom,  and  from 
other  sources,  they  learned  that  Rev.  Dr.  Hovey  was 
one  of  the  most  estimable  ministers  in  the  city  ;  that 
he  was  not  a  Secessionist,  nor  in  any  proper  sense  a 
j)ro-slavery  man,  nor  disloyal  to  the  government. 
And  when  another  Committee  of  this  Church  and 
Society  waited  upon  his  Presbytery,  to  present  our 
call,  there  was  a  general  outburst  of,  "We  cannot 
spare  him  ;"  "  Nobody  can  fill  his  place  ;"  "  He  is 
doing  invaluable  service  where  he  is,"  &c.,  &c.  His 
own  Church  also  were  in  great  alarm  at  the  prospect 
of  losing  him  ;  paid  up  the  arrearages  of  his  salary  ; 
offered  him  more  ;  and  by  a  strong  Committee  urged 
upon  the  Presbytery  the  absolute  necessity  of  retain- 
ing him  where  he  was,  unless  they  were  willing  to  see 
his  large  Church  and  Society,  with  its  eleven  hundred 
Sabbath  scholars,  broken  up  and  disbanded.  Accord- 
ingly the  Presbytery  passed  a  Resolution,  requesting 
the  South  Church  to  desist  from  the  further  prosecu- 
tion of  the  call.  Dr.  Hovey  felt  himself  bound  by 
the  rules  of  the  Presbyterian  Churcli  to  abide  by  the 
decision  of  the  Presbytery,  and  so  the  call  was  with- 
drawn. This  was  voted  at  a  meeting  of  the  South 
Church,  Deo.  1,  18G1. 

Tlie  failure  to  secure  the  services  of  Dr.  Hovey  was 
a  great  disappointment  to  some  of  our  members,  who 


MINISTRY   OF    REV.  MR,    CARROLL.  73 

knew  him  personally,  and  -vvlio  had  hoped,  from  liis 
kind  and  conciliatory  bearing,  long  experience,  and 
high  qualifications,  both  as  a  Pastor  and  Preacher, 
that  he  would  be  able  to  unite  the  jarring  elements 
of  our  Church  and  congregation,  and  thus  prevent  a 
rupture,  which  otherwise  seemed  inevitable.  The 
Committee  of  Supply,  consisting  of  Deacons  Minor 
and  Horsfall,  had  nearly  exhausted  the  list  of  candid- 
ates, and  no  one  of  those  who  had  been  heard,  ap- 
peared to  be  the  man  for  us.  In  the  case  of  one  of 
them,  a  motion  had  been  made  to  engage  him  as  Sta- 
ted Suj^ply  for  one  year,  but  the  majority  voted  no. 
Under  these  circumstances,  on  Sunday  morning, 
December  29th,  1861,  a  young  man  made  his  appear- 
ance in  our  pulpit,  who,  until  the  day  previous,  was 
unknown,  even  by  sight,  to  any  person  in  the  house  ; 
and  Avho,  in  his  turn,  had  never  seen  an  individual 
belonging  to  the  Churqh  or  congregation.  It  after- 
wards appeared  that  a  clergyman  in  the  interior  had 
sent  his  name  to  our  Committee  of  Supply,  as  one 
who  might,  perchance,  be  acceptable  to  us,  and  we  to 
him.  On  the  strength  of  this  recommendation,  the 
Committee  had  written  to  him,  inviting  him  to  preach 
one  Sabbath  :  and  here  he  was,  a  perfect  stranger,  in 
a  strange  pulpit,  having  never  before  been  in  New 
Haven.  The  first  impression  which  he  made  upon 
the  audience,  was  not  entirely  favorable.  But  he  had 
not  proceeded  fiir,  before  wliat  had  seemed  to  be  over- 
action,  disappeared  in  the  real  warmth  and  energy  of 
his  discourse.     His  text  was, — "  Therefore  the  un- 


74  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR,    CARROLL. 

godly  shall  not  stand  in  the  judgment."  Ps.  1  ;  5. 
It  was  a  powerful  and  deeply  impressive  sermon. 
When  the  service  was  over,  the  general  inquiry  was, 
"  Who  is  the  preacher  V  "  Where  is  he  from  ?" 
&c.  It  was  soon  learned  that  his  name  was  Carroll, 
and  that  he  was  a  son  of  Rev.  Daniel  L.  Carroll, 
D,  D.,  the  successor  of  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  in  Litch- 
field, Conn.  A  few  of  our  members  had  sat  under 
the  preaching  of  Dr.  Carroll,  in  Litchfield,  and  re- 
membered him  with  the  highest  veneration  and  res- 
pect. In  the  afternoon,  the  young  man  preached 
from  the  text,  "  Then  the  king's  countenance  was 
changed,  and  his  thoughts  troubled  him."  Daniel  5 ; 
6.  This  discourse  was  in  no  way  inferior  to  the  for- 
mer. At  the  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Sabbath  School 
on  Sunday  evening,  he  addressed  the  children,  keep- 
ing them  spell-bound  for  nearly  an  hour.  The  entire 
services  of  the  day  were  full  of  interest,  and  a  gene- 
ral desire  was  expressed  to  hear  him  again.  Accord- 
ingly, the  Committee  of  Supply  invited  him  to  oc- 
cupy the  pulpit  on  the  following  Sabbath,  January 
5,  1862,  to  which  he  consented.  The  morning  of 
that  day  was  our  regular  Communion  season.  Mr. 
Carroll  administered  the  Sacrament,  addressing  the 
Church  Avith  much  effect,  from  the  words,  "It  is  fin- 
ished." In  the  afternoon  he  preached  from  the  text, 
"  But  they  constrained  him,  saying,  Abide  with  us  ; 
for  it  is  toward  evening,  and  the  day  is  far  spent." 
Luke  24;  29.  In  the  evening,  being  the  Monthly 
Missionary  Concert,  Mr.  Carroll  was  present,  and  took 


MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL.  (O 

part  in  the  exercises.  Althoiigli  laboring  under  great 
lihysical  weakness,  few  persons  in  the  congregation 
were  aware  of  it,  and  still  fewer  would  have  inferred 
it  from  any  lack  of  energy  or  powder  in  his  perform- 
ances. There  was,  however,  a  general  desire  to  see 
and  hear  more  of  him,  and  a  general  feeling  that  we 
had  at  last  found  our  man.  The  Committee,  there- 
fore, invited  him  to  preach  a  third  Sabbath  ;  but  he 
respectfully  declined,  remarking,  that  they  had  had 
a  fair  specimen  of  his  preaching  ;  that  if  he  should 
preach  a  dozen  times,  he  might  not  do  any  better, 
and  he  hoped  he  should  not  do  worse.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  Church  on  the  following  Friday  evening,  Jan. 
10th,  it  was — 

"  Voted,  That  the  Society  be  requested  to  extend  a  call 
to  Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll,  to  supply  the  pulpit  and  act  as 
Pastor  for  the  term  of  one  year." 

On  the  next  day,  Jan.  11th,  1862,  the  call  was  for- 
warded to  Mr.  Carrol],  at  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  soon 
afterwards  he  signified  his  acceptance  of  the  same, 
as  follows  : — 

"Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  17,  1862. 
"Dear  Brethren  : — 

"After  deliberate  and  i)rayerful  consideration,  I  feel 
that  duty  directs  me  to  the  field  of  labor  and  love  to  which 
you,  as  a  Church,  have  so  unitedly  and  recently  called  me. 
*  *  *  And  now,  as  I  accept  your  call,  my  fervent 
prayer  to  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  is  one  which  I 
know  will  be  endorsed  and  uttered  by  you,  and  the  dear 
people  of  God  vou  represent,  that  I  may  "come  to  you  in 
the  fullness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ ;"  and 


76  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL. 

when  come,  that  I  may  "  know  nothing  among  you  save 
Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified." 

"Affectionately  yours,  in  the  bonds  of  a  common  Lord, 
J.  HALSTED  CARROLL. 
Messrs.  Thomas  Horsfall  and  E.  S.  Minor,  Committee." 

This  cheering  intelligence  was  soon  blighted  by  the 
receipt  of  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Carroll  to  one  of  the  Dea- 
cons, stating,  under  date  of  Brooklyn,  January  31st, 
that  in  consequence  of  Mr.  Carroll's  severe  indisposi- 
tion, his  physicians  had  ordered  him  as  far  South  as 
he  could  go,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  escape  the  coming 
Spring  here  ;  and  that  the  state  of  his  health  was 
such  as  would  prevent  his  undertaking  the  duties  of 
a  charge  for  at  least  six  months  to  come.  It  was, 
tliereforc,  "  with  tearful  regret,  and  yet  with  submis- 
sion to  the  mysterious  providence  creating  the  neces- 
sity, that  Mr.  Carroll  must,  for  your  sakes,  recall  his 
acceptance,  and  thus  release  you  from  the  obligations 
which  his  acceptance  involved." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Society's  Committee,  holden 
on  the  1st  of  February,  1861,  the  above-mentioned 
letter  was  read  and  considered  : — Whereupon,  the 
following  Kesolution  was  unanimously  adopted  : — 

"  Resoloc.J ,  Tliat  the  Conmiittee  of  the  South  Church 
Society  have  licard  with  deep  regret  tlie  statements  com- 
municated by  IMrs.  Carroll,  througli  Deacon  Horsfall,  with 
regard  to  the  impaired  licallh  of  her  husband;  aiul  of  the 
necessity  imposed  ujxm  him  by  medical  advi(!e,  to  postpone 
all  ])rofessional  and  pastoral  labor  for  some  months  to  come; 
and  they  sym])athize  deeply  in  the  regrets  expressed  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  in  his  consequently  being  obliged  to  recall 
his  acceptance  of  the  engagement  we  had  proffered  him. 


MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR,    CARROLL.  77 

And  that  while  this  Committee  regard  his  proposal  to  re- 
call his  acceptance,  as  highly  honorable  to  Mr,  Carroll, 
they  earnestly  request  that  he  will  allow  the  engagement 
to  stand,  with  the  hope  that  by  the  kind  providence  of  God, 
at  the  end  of  six  months,  if  not  before,  he  may  be  able  to 
assume  the  duties  to  which  with  such  gratifying  unanimity 
our  people  have  called  him." 

This  action  of  tlie  Society's  Committee  having 
been  communicated  to  the  Church  at  a  special  meet- 
ing, held  on  the  2d  of  February,  1862,  the  latter 
body  adopted  the  following  resolution  : 

"Resolved,  That  this  Church  do  hereby  concur  in  the 
sentiments  of  the  Society's  Committee  as  embodied  in  the 
resolution  just  read ;  and  would  earnestly  pray  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church  to  have  our  Pastor  elect  in  His  holy 
keeping,  and  if  it  please  Him,  to  restore  him  speedily  to 
health,  that  we  may  enjoy  the  benefit  of  his  labors." 

The  above  resolutions  were  forwarded  to  Mr.  Carroll 
by  a  Committee,  and  elicited  the  following  reply  : 

Brooklvx,  K  Y.,  Feb.  12,  1862. 

My  very  dear  Brethren  : 

The  minutes  of  the  South  Congregational  Society's 
Committee,  adopted  at  a  meeting  held  Feb.  1st,  together 
with  the  resolution  endorsing  them,  passed  by  the  Church 
on  the  following  day,  were  received  duly,  and  the  generous 
request  contained  therein  "to  permit  the  engagement  to 
stand,"  has  been  carefully  and  comprehensively  considered 
in  all  its  relations  both  to  you  and  to  myself. 

The  honor  thus  conferred  is  one  which  I  sincerely  appre- 
ciate, and  cannot  too  highly  estimate; — whilst  the  sweet 
sympathy  tendered  in  this  hour  of  sickness  and  despond- 
ency, and  the  manifestations  of  attachment  evidenced, 
evoked  (he  sweetest  and  most  cordial  reciprocity.  Upon 
this  deliberate  re-expression  of  your  choice  of  me  as  your 
7 


78  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL. 

minister,  and  upon  the  strength  of  the  reciprocal  love  I 
bear  you  as  a  Church  of  Christ,  I  base  my  hearty  accept- 
ance of  your  renewed  proposal : — feeling  too,  that  the  same 
Providence  re-decides  me  which  first  led  me  to  you,  gave 
me  a  call  from  you,  directed  my  affirmative  answer,  com- 
pelled afterwards  the  withdrawal  of  it,  and  now,  by  your 
recent  action,  permits  and  prompts  my  re-acceptance. 

The  interval  of  separation  ere  we  expect  to  meet  and 
mingle  in  endearing  fellowship,  I  trust  will  be  one  of  prepa- 
ration and  prayer  on  the  part  of  both ;  preparation  of  mind 
and  heart,  that  will  but  furnish  more  thoroughly  for  every 
good  word  and  work,  both  preacher  and  people.  My  time 
shall  be  yours,  spent  with  reference  to  you,  though  absent 
from  you;  whilst  my  heart  is  already  yours,  in  all  its 
warmest  out-goings  of  Christian  love. 

Permitting  me  again  to  thank  you  for  the  honor,  sympa- 
thy and  attachment,  manifested  toward  me  in  this  renewal 
of  your  call,  I  close  this  my  answer  with  a  hope,  and  a 
prayer  ; — the  earnest  hope  that  by  the  kind  blessing  of  our 
dear  God,  I  shall  be  entirely  restored  to  wonted  health  and 
vigor  at  the  expiration  of  the  mentioned  months, — and  with 
the  oft-repeated  prayer  that  Jesus,  the  great  Head  of  his 
Church,  will  give  me  multitudes  of  deathless  souls  as  the 
seals  of  my  ministry  among  you,  to  be  set,  at  last,  as  pol- 
ished jewels  in  His  own  radiant  crown  of  rejoicing. 

In  the  bonds  of  the  Gospel,  and  in  the  sweet  hope  of 
heaven, 

I  remain,  faithfully  and  affectionately, 

.  J.  HALSTED  CARROLL. 
To  Messrs.  T.  Horsfall,  E.  S.  Minor,  and  others,  Committee. 

This  final  acceptance,  by  Mr.  Carroll,  of  the  call 
which  had  been  tendered  him,  was  responded  to  in 
behalf  of  the  Society's  Committee  as  follows  : 

New  Haven,  Feb.  15,  1862. 

Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll, 

Mij  dear  Brother  .-—Your  letter  of  the  12th  inst.,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Committee  of  the  South  Church  Society, 


MINISTKY    OF    KEV.    MR.    CAKROLL.  79 

was  duly  received,  and  laid  before  the  Committee  at  a 
meeting  held  last  evening ;  whereupon  the  following  reso- 
lution was  passed,  which  I  am  instructed  to  communicate 
to  you,  vi/ : 

''Resolved,  That  the  Committee  have  read  with  great 
satisfaction  the  letter  from  Rev.  J.  H.  Carroll,  signifying 
his  re-acceptance  of  the  call  extended  to  him  by  the  So- 
ciety's Committee  and  the  Church;  and  they  trust  that  a 
kind  Providence  will  fulfill  all  the  good  wishes  expressed 
therein,  regarding  his  restored  health  and  future  usefulness 
among  us." 

With  fraternal  and  Christian  regards, 

I  remain,  very  truly  yours, 

E.  S.  MINOR, 
Clerk  of  South  Church  Society's  CoTtunittee. 

In  the  three  or  four  months  whicli  elapsed  between 
Mv.  Carroirs  acceptance  of  the  call,  and  the  com- 
mencement of  his  labors  as  Stated  Supply,  there  was 
ample  time  for  any  who  doubted  his  antecedents, 
to  inform  themselves  fully  on  that  head.  And  we 
may  here  remark,  that  if  certain  individuals  had 
made  a  tithe  of  the  effort  to  acquaint  themselves 
with  his  real  history,  which  they  did  to  discover  some 
stain  upon  his  character,  or  some  delinquency  in  his 
life,  they  would  have  been  more  than  satisfied,  if  any 
thing  good  could  satisfy  them.  They  would  have 
found  that  he  was  the  son  of  distinguished  parents  ; 
that  his  father  occupied  positions  of  the  highest  em- 
inence in  his  profession,  and  all  with  great  accept- 
ance and  usefulness  ;  first,  as  successor  to  Rev.  Dr. 
Beechcr,  in  Litchfield,  Conn.  ;  then  as  Pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  on  Brooklyn  Heights  ;  then  as 
President  of  Hampden   Sidney  College,  Va.  ;    and 


80  MINISTRY    OF    REV,    MR.    CARROLL. 

lastly  as  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Churcli  in 
Northern  Liberties^  Philadelphia.  To  the  last  men- 
tioned Church  there  were  added  during  his  ministry 
of  five  years  and  four  months,  259  members,  or  an 
average  of  forty-eight  per  annum.  Ill  health  at 
length  compelled  him  to  relinquish  his  charge,  and 
after  a  few  years  of  increasing  illness,  he  departed 
this  life  at  the  age  of  fifty-five,  with  the  words, 
"  Christ  is  all  my  hope,"  upon  his  lips.  The  writer 
remembers  him  well,  and  can  attest  the  truthfulness 
and  fidelity  of  the  following  portrait,  drawn  by  Rev. 
Thomas  J.  Shepherd,  who  now  occupies  the  same 
pulpit  which  Dr.  Carroll  vacated  in  Philadelphia. 
He  says  : 

"  Dr.  Carroll  was  largely  endowed  by  nature  and  grace 
with  the  qualities  which  give  success  to  the  preacher  and 
pastor.  In  person  he  was  tall,  slender,  yet  symmetrically 
formed.  He  had  a  complexion  rather  dark ;  an  eye  singu- 
larly fine  and  expressive ;  a  countenance  that  easily  took 
on  a  winning  smile,  or  brightened  into  a  glow  of  animation ; 
and  a  voice,  withal,  of  great  compass  and  melody,  modu- 
lated ever  with  an  exquisite  taste.  In  manners  he  was 
uncommonly  bland,  graceful,  fascinating.  He  had  the  rare 
faculty  of  making  himself  equally  agreeable  to  people  of  all 
ages  and  of  all  ranks. 

"  In  native  intellect  and  studious  culture,  he  was  un- 
doubtedly superior  to  most  men.  He  had  in  ample  meas- 
ure the  intuitive  power  of  veason,  and  the  imperial  power 
of  imagination.  In  College  and  in  Seminary  he  studied 
hard,  too  hard  indeed  for  his  physical  strength,  yet  so  suc- 
cessfully as  to  gift  the  workings  of  his  mind  with  a  pro- 
digious force. 

"In  sensibility,  moreover,  he  was  quick,  subtle,  strong. 
He  had  a  nervous  organization  which  perhaps  was  too 
highly  strung  for  the  world's  rough  ways,  but  which  made 


MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL.  81 

him  keenly  susceptible  of  aflfection,  and  enthusiastically 
ardent  in  attachment. 

"  He  was,  too,  in  executive  talent,  a  more  than  ordinary 
man.  He  had  the  disposition  as  well  as  the  ability  to  labor. 
He  wrought  his  sermons  with  pains-taking  fidelity,  and  with 
disciplined  skill.  He  gave  himself  to  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry with  a  zeal  and  self-forgetfulness  that  revealed  not 
more  the  sense  of  religious  responsibility  than  the  spirit  of 
indomitable  energy. 

"And  all  these  qualities,  native  and  acquired,  were  under 
the  control  of  a  profoundly  scriptural  and  eminently  con- 
servative piety.  He  loved  truth,  and  sought  it  ever  with 
an  inextinguishable  thirst.  He  loved  the  souls  of  men ; 
and,  so  long  as  his  strength  lasted,  sought  their  salvation 
with  an  indefatigable  earnestness.  He  was,  in  a  word,  a 
noble  example  of  the  Christian  man  and  the  cultivated 
minister." 

Such  was  the  father  of  Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll, 
the  present  minister  of  the  South  Church,  New  Haven. 
The  latter  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  ;  made  a  pro- 
fession of  religion  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years  ;  en- 
tered College  before  he  was  fourteen  ;  and  graduated 
at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  July,  1851.  In 
the  following  year  he  entered  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary,  and  graduated  in  May,  1855.  At  the  close 
of  his  second  year  of  theological  study,  he  was  licens- 
ed by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  to  preach  the 
Gospel  ;  and  on  the  30th  of  May,  1855,  (the  year  he 
left  the  Seminary,)  he  was  ordained  and  installed  by 
the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  as  Pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Jamesburg,  New  Jersey. 
The  exercises  of  the  occasion  were  opened  with  prayer 
by  Rev.  Dr.  McDonald,  of  Princeton.     Rev.  Dr.  Hall, 


82  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL. 

of  Trenton,  preached  the  Sermon.  Rev.  Dr.  Hodge, 
of  Princeton,  then  stated  who  Mr.  Carroll  was,  and 
what  studies  he  had  pursued,  which  he  said  had  been 
entirely  satisfactory  to  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
Theological  Seminary,  and  to  the  Presbytery.  He 
next  proposed  a  series  of  questions  to  the  candidate, 
ind  also  to  the  people,  which  were  answered  satisfac- 
torily, and  then  calling  the  Presbytery  around  the 
candidate,  who  took  a  kneeling  position,  offered  up 
an  impressive  prayer,  while  the  Presbytery  were  lay- 
ing their  hands  on  the  candidate's  head.  When  the 
prayer  was  over,  the  candidate  rose,  and  the  several 
ministers  present  welcomed  him  as  a  member  of  their 
body,  Kev.  Professor  Green,  of  Princeton,  delivered 
the  charge  to  the  Pastor,  and  Kev.  Dr.  McDonald, 
the  charge  to  the  people.  Rev.  Dr.  Hodge  pronoun- 
ced the  benediction,  and  then  called  upon  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  to  come  and  greet  their  Pastor, 
which  was  done  by  a  large  number.  The  Church  of 
Jamesburg,  over  which  Mr.  Carroll  Avas  thus  install- 
ed, is  near  the  preaching-ground  of  David  Brainerd, 
and  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Church  where  those 
holy  men,  the  Tennants,  labored  with  such  wonderful 
zeal  and  success.  In  the  midst  of  these  associations, 
and  stimulated  by  such  examples,  Mr.  Carroll  enter- 
ed upon  his  labors,  humbly  desiring  to  emulate  Brai- 
nerd's  heart- wish, — "  0  that  I  was  a  flame  of  fire  in 
the  service  of  my  God."  Faithful  labors,  put  forth 
in  such  a  spirit,  could  hardly  fail  of  producing  a  rich 
harvest.     Accordingly,  from  the  very  beginninj  of  his 


MINISTRY    OE    REV.    MR.    CARROLL.  83 

ministry,  there  was  more  or  less  seriousness  among 
his  people,  and  occasional  conversions.  In  the  course 
of  the  following  year,  (1856,)  these  cheering  manifesta- 
tions deepened  into  a  powerful  revival,  which  affected 
not  only  his  own  congregation  in  Jamesburg,  but  also 
the  neighboring  congregation  of  Manalapan,  where  he 
labored  a  part  of  the  time.  A  brief  account  of  this 
revival  was  published  in  the  New  York  Observer  by 
Mr.  Carroll,  under  date  of 

"Jamesburg,  Dec.  11,   1856. 

"  Since  it  has  pleased  God  most  signally  to  bless  my  own 
and  a  neighboring  Church,  and  indeed  tins  whole  section  of 
his  vineyard,  with  the  special  out-pouring  of  his  Holy  Spirit, 
I  take  tlio  liberty  of  sending  you  a  brief  narrative  of  the 
state  of  religion  here  at  the  present  time,  knowing  it  will 
prove  a  matter  of  rejoicing  to  you,  as  well  as  to  the  hearts 
of  your  numerous  Christian  readers.  During  last  Spring,  my 
Church  enjoyed  a  delightful  revival  of  religion,  the  influence 
of  which  has  continued,  and  been  manifest,  more  or  less,  ever 
since.  But  it  is  within  the  past  six  weeks  that  indications 
of  the  sjiecial  presence  of  the  Spirit  have  been  seen,  and  the 
effects  of  his  presence  felt.  In  this  period,  besides  the  usual 
prayer  meeting,  we  have  held  two  weekly  services  in  the 
Church,  so  eager  and  earnest  are  the  people  to  receive  the 
word  of  life.  Indeed,  never  in  this  community  has  there 
been  such  an  intense  and  pervading  interest  on  the  subject 
of  the  soul's  salvation,  as  now.  Christians  are  awake.  El- 
ders are  at  work,  meetings  for  prayer  and  inquiry  literally 
thronged,  and  in  going  from  house  to  house  and  from  soul 
to  soul,  time  and  again  is  heard  the  cry,  '  What  must  I  do 
to  be  saved  V  And  so  universally  is  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  felt,  that  I  have  not  found  five  out  of  the 
thousand  and  more  diiferent  individuals  whom  I  have  ad- 
dressed personally,  who  were  not  both  willing  and  waiting 
to  hear.  AVith  us,  truly  blessed  is  this  scene  and  season. 
Of  the  ninety  members  received  into  our  Communion  dur- 


84  MINISTRY  OF    REV.  MR.  CARROLL. 

ing  the  past  fifteen  months,  fifty-eight  united  on  profession 
of  their  faith ;  and  of  the  twenty-nine  last  Sabbath,  twenty 
on  profession.  *#***«  *  # 
"The  revival  in  the  neighboring  Church  ^the  Manalapan) 
is  even  of  greater  extent  and  interest,  if  possible.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  a  new  Cliurch :  and  in  the  second  place, 
they  have  never  had  a  Pastor.  These  two  facts  lend  an 
unusual  interest  to  their  I'efreshing,  to  them  so  unspeakably 
precious.  It  was  my  privilege  to  officiate  at  their  first 
Communion  season,  the  first  Sabbath  of  October  last ;  and 
0  what  a  day  was  that  in  their  history, — memorable  to 
saint  and  sinner.  God  was  most  sensibly  and  signally  pres- 
ent in  his  sanctuary  there,  and  has  taken  up  his  abode  with 
them  ever  since,  giving  the  same  efficacy  to  the  preached 
word,  edifying  his  children,  convicting  and  converting  his 
foes.  And  here  I  would  remark,  that  in  both  places  and 
Churches,  there  were  no  means  employed,  or  measures 
adopted,  but  the  simple  preaching  of  the  way  of  salvation 
through  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  a  meeting  of  inquiry  to  di- 
rect the  penitent  to  the  Lamb  of  God.  *  *  *  There 
have  been,  during  the  revival  here,  upwards  of  a  hundred 
anxious  ones  in  the  inquiry  meeting, — between  sixty  and  sev- 
enty cases  of  hopeful  conversion.  Of  this  number,  between 
forty  and  fifty  will  probably  unite  with  the  Manalapan 
Church,  and  the  remainder  with  the  neighboring  sister 
Churches.  Truly  before  they  called,  God  answered  ;  and 
the  people  with  amazement  exclaim.  Behold  what  God  hath 
wrought. 

J.  HALSTED  CARROLL, 

Pastor  of  Presh.  Ch.  of  Jameshnrgy 

During  tliis  revival,  the  Professors  at  Princeton 
were  often  present  and.  took  part  in  the  multiplied, 
services  ;  but  no  such  assistance  could  relieve  the 
Pastor  from  excessive  labor,  care  and  anxiety,  in  a 
period  so  critical  to  many  of  his  people,  and  when  the 
work  of  years  was  to  be  done  in  a  few  months  or 
weeks.     For  a  time,  the  stimulus  of  joy  and  hope, 


MINISTRY  OF  REV.  MR.  CARROLL.  85 

gratitude  and  love,  sustained  him,  under  toils  and 
burdens  which  his  delicate  physical  structure  had  not 
strength  to  endure  ;  but  at  length  his  health  gave 
way  ;  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs  ensued  ;  and  there 
seemed  no  alternative  but  to  resign  his  charge,  and 
seek  a  milder  climate,  as  well  as  a  cessation  from  la- 
bor. To  this  necessity  he  finally  yielded,  asking  and 
receiving  a  dismission  from  a  people  much  beloved, 
and  who  loved  him  in  return.  The  following  resolu- 
tion was  unanimously  adopted  by  his  Church  on  the 
occasion  of  his  leaving  them  : 

"  Resolved,  That  we  do  hereby  publicly  testify  our  grati- 
tude to  God  that  during  Mr.  Carroll's  ministry  here,  his  la- 
bors have  been  signally  blest  by  the  out-pouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  that  from  a  small  beginning  we  have  been  raised 
up  to  be  a  growing  and  prosperous  Church." 

A.  J.  McKELWAY,  Chairman. 
J.  C.  MAGEE,  Secretary. 
Jamesburg,  Feb.  1,  1858. 

Soon  after  leaving  Jamesburg,  Mr.  Carroll  pro- 
ceeded South,  stopping  at  Aiken,  S.  C,  a  place. of 
resort  for  invalids,  including  many  from  the  North. 
He  had  intended  to  remain  there  but  a  short  time, 
but  finding  his  health  improving,  he  occasionally 
preached,  and  with  so  much  acceptance,  that  the 
good  people  of  Aiken  desired  him  to  settle  over  them 
as  Pastor.  With  this  view  a  Presbyterian  Church 
was  organized  there  on  the  28th  and  29th  of  August, 
1858,  and  not  long  after  a  convenient  house  of  wor- 
ship was  erected.  Here  Mr.  Carroll  labored  with 
great  usefulness  and  success,  for  nearly  two  years. 


86  MINISTRY  OF  REV.  MR.  CARROLL. 

He  then  asked  a  dismission,  for  the  purpose  of  going 
to  Europe,  hoping  to  gain  more  perfect  health  and 
strength,  as  well  as  to  see  what  was  worth  seeing 
in  foreign  lands,  and  esi:»ecially  to  hear  the  distin- 
guished preachers  of  England  and  Scotland,  such  as 
Guthrie,  Spurgeon,  Cummins,  and  others.  On  his 
leaving  Aiken,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions 
were  adopted  by  the  Church  : 

"  May  Uh,  1860. — Whereas,  the  relation  which  has  sub- 
sisted between  the  Aiken  Presbyterian  Church  and  the  Rev. 
J.  Halsted  Carroll,  having  been  dissolved  by  his  voluntary 
resignation  of  the  office  which  he  has  held  for  nearly  two 
years, — it  is  fit  and  proper  that  some  expression  of  our 
sentiments  should  be  made  and  recorded  on  the  occasion 
of  his  departure  from  this  field  of  labor : — Be  it  therefore 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Church  and  congregation  entertain 
a  very  grateful  sense  of  the  valuable  services  rendered  by 
Mr.  Carroll  in  the  founding  and  organization  of  our  Church ; 
of  his  zealous  devotion  to  the  promotion  of  our  enterprise, 
and  his  successful  efforts  in  raising  tlie  means  for  the  con- 
struction of  our  house  of  worship  ;  and  that  we  shall  also 
ever  affectionately  cherish  the  recollection  of  his  sympa- 
thising attentions  to  the  members  of  his  flock,  in  their 
mingled  experience  of  joys  and  sorrows,  during  the  period 
of  his  pastorship. 

"  Resolved,  That  with  the  hope  that  the  able  and  eloquent 
discourses  which  characterized  his  ministry  amongst  us, 
replete  with  the  most  orthodox  views  and  pious  exhorta- 
tations,  and  which  may  well  be  compared  to  'apples  of 
gold  in  pictun'S  of  silver,'  may  ])rove  as  the  good  seed  in 
the  parable,  and  by  the  blessing  Cod  yield  in  due  season  a 
rich  harvest  of  spiritual  fruit,  we  tender  to  him  our  best 
wishes  for  his  future  hapi>iiiess  and  ])rosperity. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  above  jireamble  and  resolutions  be 
entered  on  the  Session  books  of  our  ('hurch,  and  a  copy  of 
the  same  be  forwarded  by  the  Clerk  of  Session  to  Mr. 
Carroll. 

W.  P.  FINLEY,  Clerk  of  Sessionr 


MINISTRY  OF  REV,  MR.  CARROLL.  87 

Fortified  with  strong  letters  of  commendation  from 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  Americans,  to  emi- 
nent men  in  Great  Britain,  France,  Germany,  and 
other  countries  of  Europe,  Mr.  Carroll  left  the  United 
States  in  the  early  part  of  1860,  and  was  ahsent  ahout 
a  year.  It  does  not  fall  within  the  design  of  this 
sketch  to  give  even  an  outline  of  his  tour.  Suffice  it 
to  say  that  he  accomplished,  even  beyond  his  expec- 
tations, all  the  objects  which  he  had  in  view  ;  formed 
the  acquaintance  of  many  celebrated  men,  by  all  of 
whom,  on  the  strength  of  his  letters,  he  was  cordially 
received  ;  listened  to  the  preaching  of  the  principal 
pulpit  orators  of  Europe  ;  saw  whatever  he  desired 
to  see  ;  and  returned  home  with  improved  health, 
enlarged  experience  of  men  and  things,  and  with  a 
strong  desire  to  enter  anew  upon  his  great  work  of 
trying  to  benefit  and  save  lost  men  by  the  preaching 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  For  a  few  months  after  his 
return,  he  passed  his  time  chiefly  in  Brooklyn  and 
New  York,  preaching  here  and  there  as  duty  called, 
but  without  any  regular  charge,  until  he  was  invited 
to  the  South  Church,  New  Haven. 

And  this  brings  us  back  to  the  point  from  which 
we  digressed.  He  had  accepted  the  call  to  said 
Church,  but  was  obliged  to  postpone  for  a  few 
months  the  fulfillment  of  his  engagement,  by  reason 
of  ill  health.  On  the  first  Sabbatli  in  June,  1862, 
being  the  1st  day  of  June,  his  people  were  made  glad 
by  seeing  him  in  their  pulpit,  apparently  in  comfort- 
able health,  and  ready  to  serve  them  for  Christ's  sake, 


88  MINISTRY  OF  REV.  BIR.  CARROLL. 

in  the  new  relation  which  had  just  been  formed.  His 
first  sermon  was  from  the  text,  "I  ask,  therefore,  for 
what  intent  ye  have  sent  for  me,"  Acts  10  :  29.  In 
the  afternoon,  "  0  son  of  man,  I  have  set  thee  a 
watchman  nnto  the  house  of  Israel,"  &c.,  JEzekiel 
33  :  7,  8,  9.  Both  were  exceedingly  appropriate  and 
excellent  discourses,  and  were  listened  to  by  pro- 
foundly attentive  and  deeply  interested  audiences. 
The  subjects  gave  him  opportunity  to  enlarge  upon 
the  recii^rocal  duties  of  ministers  and  people,  and 
their  responsibilities  to  each  other  and  to  God.  The 
spirit  of  tender  earnestness  and  faithfulness  to  the 
souls  of  men,  which  breathed  through  these  intro- 
ductory sermons,  has  characterized  his  preaching  ever 
since.  Not  that  he  is  always  dwelling  upon  one 
theme, — far  from  it.  On  the  contrary,  variety,  both 
of  subject  and  manner, — variety  in  the  construction 
of  his  sermons,  in  the  mode  of  presenting  truth,  and 
even  in  the  order  of  exercises,*  is  a  prominent  feature 
of  his  ministry.  From  the  wells  of  salvation  he 
draws  ample  supplies  for  the  diversified  wants  of  tlie 
soul,    without   resorting   to   politics   or   shade-trees. 

*Most  commonly,  at  the  close  of  his  sermons  on  the  S-ibbath,  he  re- 
tires to  liis  scat,  while  the  choir,  under  the  direction  of  their  accom. 
pushed  leader,  Mr.  Frank  L.  Martyn,  strike  up  a  verse  or  two  of  somo 
appropriate  hymn  or  other  choice  selection,  adapted  and  designed  to 
deepen  the  impression  left  by  the  sermon.  The  eflfect  is  often  exceed- 
ingly fine;  the  singing  being  good, — unusually  so,  for  a  volunteer 
choir, — and  the  organ-playing,  by  Mr.  Martyn,  admirable.  The  bene- 
diction is  then  pronounced, — sometimes  preceded  by  a  few  short  peti- 
tions bearing  immediately  upon  the  subject  of  the  discourse,  and  some- 
times not. 


MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL.  89 

11  is  sermons  are  full  of  thought,  legitimately  derived 
from  his  texts,  though  often  not  lying  on  the  surface, 
yet  when  suggested,  so  obviously  comprehended  with- 
in the  scope  of  the  passage,  that  the  hearer  wonders 
he  never  caught  the  idea  before.  There  is  withal  a 
terseness  and  point  to  his  discourses,  and  a  beauty  of 
language  and  imagery,  which  render  it  impossible  to 
forget  them.  His  descriptions  of  scenes  and  incidents 
are  exceedingly  graphic.  His  "  Scripture  characters," 
as  presented  in  the  Chapel  on  Sunday  evenings  for 
many  months  in  succession,  until  superseded  lately 
by  the  "  Fulton  street  Prayer  Meetings,"  we  have 
never  heard  surpassed  ;  so  life-like,  and  so  full 
of  instruction.  The  attendance  upon  them  was 
very  large.  To  those  who  never  heard  Mr.  Carroll 
preach,  we  may  remark,  that  one  half  of  the  power  of 
his  discourses  consists  in  the  delivery.  Sometimes 
they  are  written  out  in  full,  but  more  generally  not ; 
and  in  either  case  he  is  entirely  independent  of  his 
manuscript,  seldom  even  looking  at  it,  but  holding- 
constant  communication  with  his  hearers,  not  onlv 
by  his  voice,  but  by  his  expressive  features  and  ap- 
propriate action.  His  enunciation  is  remarkably 
distinct,  his  voice  soft  and  clear,  and  his  command  of 
the  audience  such,  that  amidst  the  profound  stillness 
of  the  house,  he  is  heard  in  every  portion  of  it,  even 
when  speaking  not  much  above  the  tone  of  common 
conversation.  This  is  i)artly  owing  to  the  admirable 
construction  of  the  audience-room,  in  which  the  laws 
of  acoustics  are  better  consulted   than   in  any  other 


90  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CxiRROLL 

within  our  knowledge,  and  partly  to  the  causes  above 
mentioned,  viz  :  clearness  of  enunciation  and  still- 
ness of  the  house.  The  fact,  however,  that  with  so 
little  strain  ujion  his  voice,  he  is  heard  with  perfect 
ease  and  comfort  on  the  part  of  his  audience,  is  a 
great  relief  to  him  ;  and  may  account  in  a  measure 
for  his  increased  health  and  strength,  notwithstand- 
ing his  abundant  labors, — having  no  facilities  for 
exchanging,  and  generally  preaching  two  sermons  on 
the  Sabbath,  and  sometimes  a  third  in  the  evening. 
It  is  a  common  remark  among  his  people,  that  he  is 
constantly  improving,  both  in  matter  and  manner. 
There  is  one  peculiarity  in  his  manner  which  we  must 
not  omit  to  mention,  viz  :  that  it  combines  in  about 
equal  proportions,  gentleness  and  fire  ;  two  things 
theoretically  inconsistent  with  each  other,  but  practi- 
cally exemplified  in  the  South  Church  every  Sabbath. 
As  an  extempore  speaker  especially,  his  powers  are 
extraordinary.  Take  him  when  and  where  you  will, 
on  any  subject,  in  the  pulpit  or  on  the  platform  or  in 
the  conference-room,  he  is  always  ready,  and  always 
good  ;  seldom  hesitating  or  recalling  a  word,  but  going 
on  like  a  quiet,  steady  stream,  supplied  by  never-fail- 
ing springs,  until  he  has  occupied  the  time  allotted 
him,  or  accomplished  the  end  at  which  he  aimed.  His 
duties  as  minister  of  a  large  parish,  (for  he  has  much 
to  do  outside  of  the  limits  of  his  congregation  proper, 
in  visiting  the  sick,  attending  funerals,  &c.,)  are  quite 
enough  for  any  one  man  to  perform  ;  yet  occasionally 
he  steps  beyond  the  exact  limits  of  his  profession,  as 


MINISTEY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL.  91 

at  the  Irish  Relief  meeting  in  Music  Hall  a  year  or 
two  ago,  where,  for  an  hour  or  more,  he  electrified  an 
immense  audience,  who  responded  with  peal  upon 
})eal,  and  cheer  upon  cheer.  On  all  sucli  occasions 
he  is  ''  at  home,"  knowing  exactly  where  and  how  to 
strike  the  popular  ear  and  heart.  It  is  well  that 
such  extraordinary  sjieaking  talents  are  consecrated 
to  "  Christ  and  his  cause,"  and  not  to  the  drama,  or 
the  bar,  or  politics,  or  the  forum.  New  Haven  may 
well  be  proud  of  such  a  minister,  and  such  a  man. 

Mr.  Carroll  came  here  without  any  flourish  of  trum- 
pets, or  anything  in  the  position  or  circumstances  of 
his  Church  and  congregation  to  give  him  consequence 
or  bring  liini  into  notice.  He  was  deliberately  shun- 
ned by  ministers  of  his  own  denomination,  or  rather, 
of  the  denomination  to  which  his  Church  belonged, 
as  if  they  thought  they  could  extinguish  his  light 
by  not  recognizing  -its  existence.  Meanwhile  the 
tongue  of  slander  was  secretly  moving  against  him, 
and  had  the  greater  power  for  mischief  because  he 
was  so  little  known  in  this  community.  Men  pro- 
fessing the  religion  of  Jesus,  acted  as  if  they  thought 
they  were  doing  God  service  by  undermining  the 
influence  and  impairing  the  usefulness  of  one  of  His 
faithful  ambassadors.  He,  however,  went  on  with 
his  proper  work,  trusting  in  God  to  vindicate  his 
reputation  and  prosper  his  labors.  Nor  did  he  trust 
in  vain.  God  gave  him  many  souls  as  seals  of  his 
ministry  and  crowns  of  his  rejoicing.  [For  particu- 
lars see  Catalogue  at  the  close  of  this  volume.]     His 


92  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL. 

congregations  steadily  increased,  and  have  continued 
to  increase,  until  now,  on  Sabbath  afternoons  at  least, 
they  are  believed  to  be  larger,  on  an  average,  than 
those  of  any  other  Church  of  the  same  denomination 
in  the  city.  And  this,  notwithstanding  the  remote- 
ness of  his  j)osition  from  the  centre  of  poi)ulation. 
The  same  increase  was  and  is  seen  in  the  Sabbath 
evening  meetings,  and  in  those  held  during  the  week. 
Many  influential  families  from  town  have  joined  the 
congregation,  taking  slips,  and  otlierwise  identifying 
themselves  with  its  interests.  A  more  harmonious, 
prosperous  and  happy  Church  and  congregation  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find.  Their  minister  is  univer- 
sally beloved  by  his  people,  as  well  as  respected  and 
honored.     This  makes  his  burdens  light. 

And  here  we  must  recall  some  circumstances  which 
it  would  be  more  agreeable  to  omit,  did  they  not 
occui^y  so  prominent  a  place  in  our  history,  and  were 
they  not,  in  fact,  a  key  to  the  prosperity  which,  under 
God,  we  now  enjoy.  Mr,  Carroll  had  not  been  long 
in  his  present  position,  before  it  was  discovered  by  a 
jjortion  of  his  peoi:)le  that  he  did  not  ring  the  usual 
changes  on  the  subject  of  slavery  and  the  war.  In 
short,  he  did  not  make  politics  a  part  of  his  religion. 
Of  course,  had  he  made  any  politics  but  theirs  a  part 
of  his  religion,  it  would  have  been  an  awful  desecra- 
tion of  the  jiulpit  and  the  Sabbath  ;  but  their  poli~ 
tics  were  an  essential  ])art  of  Christian  ethics,  and 
no  minister  who  ignored  them,  could  be  a  faithful 
ambassador  of  Christ.     Accordingly  they  began  to 


MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL,  93 

comi)lain — of  him  and  to  him.  And  finding  this 
unavailing,  they  sent  him  written  remonstrances  and 
arguments,  designed  to  convince  his  understanding 
and  rectify  his  judgment.  Doubtk'ss  they  were  sur- 
prised to  find  him  still  insensible  to  the  claims  of 
duty  as  they  understood  it, — still  blind  to  their  view 
of  the  obligations  of  his  sacred  calling.  When  at 
length  they  despaired  of  bringing  him  out  on  these 
subjects, — when  they  saw  that  his  own  convictions  of 
propriety  and  duty  forbade  it, — the  next  step  was,  to 
attempt  to  get  rid  of  him.  So  they  began  to  agitate 
for  a  change.  But  it  was  not  until  the  18th  of  Feb- 
rury,  1863,  that  they  had  opportunity  to  show  their 
strength.  On  that  day  was  held  a  Church  meeting, 
of  which  public  notice  had  been  given,  for  the  special 
purpose  of  providing  for  the  supply  of  the  pulpit 
after  the  termination  of  Mr.  Carroll's  year,  ending 
1st  of  June  following.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that 
there  was  some  anxiety  among  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Carroll,  as  to  what  would  be  the  result.  The  lines 
were  not  so  distinctly  drawn  among  the  members,  at 
least  in  many  cases,  as  they  are  at  present.  There 
were  quite  a  number  of  floaters,  standing  upon  our 
books  as  members,  who  very  seldom  attended  our 
Church.  They  were  truants  under  Mr.  Noyes'  ad- 
ministration, and  equally  so  under  Mr.  Carroll's  ; 
but  now  they  were  all  on  hand,  as  in  duty  bound,  to 
assist  in  determining  the  question  who  should  be  our 
next  minister.     After  the  meeting   had   been  organ- 


94  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL. 

ized,    a   member   moved    the   following   resolutions, 
which  were  duly  seconded  : 

Resnlvecl,  That  with  grateful  acknowledgments  to  our 
Heavenly  Father  for  the  blessings  he  has  bestowed  and  is 
still  bestowing  in  connection  with  the  labors  of  our  beloved 
Pastor,  Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll,  we  hereby  express  our 
earnest  desire  for  the  continuance  of  those  labors,  and  of 
the  relations  now  existing  between  Mr.  Carroll  as  Stated 
Supply,  and  this  Church  and  Society,  until  the  same  shall 
be  annulled  or  modified  by  the  joint  consent  of  the  parties, 
to  wit,  this  Church  and  Society  on  the  one  part,  and  Mr. 
Carroll  on  the  other,  or  by  the  separate  action  of  either  of 
said  parties,  in  which  latter  case  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
Church  that  at  least  four  months  notice  in  Wi-iting,  should 
be  given  by  the  party  desiring  a  change,  to  the  party  not 
desiring  it ;  with  the  single  exception,  that  this  condition 
should  be  waived  in  favor  of  Mr.  Carroll,  if  at  any  time  by 
reason  of  bodily  infirmity  he  should  be  unable  to  perform 
the  duties  of  his  office. 

Resolced,  That  if,  to  relieve  himself  from  an  amount  of 
labor  l)cyond  his  physical  strength,  Mr.  Carroll  should  de- 
sire the  cooperation  of  Rev.  Myron  Barrett  as  Associate 
Supply,  and  if  the  expense  of  the  whole  arrangement  can 
be  brought  within  the  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  Society, 
this  Church  deem  it  very  desirable  that  Mr.  Barrett,  (whose 
labors  among  us  have  been  highly  appreciated,)  should  be 
engaged  as  such  Associate,  until  the  1st  day  of  May,  1864, 
leaving  any  further  arrangement  with  \\\\\\  beyond  that 
date,  to  depend  upon  circumstances  and  the  wishes  of  the 
parties. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  communicated  to  the 
Ecclesiastical   Society  connected  with  this  Church,  at  its 
meeting  appointed  to  be  held  this  evening. 
New  Haven,  Feb.  18,  1803. 

On  the  question  of  adopting  these  resolutions,  a 
lively  debate  ensued, — most  of  those  members  who 
were  opposed  to  Mr.  Carroll,  expressing  their  views 


MINISTRY   OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL.  95 

in  words.     A  few  of  bis  friends  also  spoke, — one  of 
them  as  follows  :  * 

"  I  protest  against  the  doctrine  that  because  a  man  does 
not  deny  an  accusation,  lie  therefore  admits  it  to  be  true. 
Why,  according  to  this  doctrine,  a  minister  might  spend 
half  his  time  in  vindicating  himself  against  false  accusa- 
tions, and  after  all  there  would  be  "  a  few  more  left."  I 
trust  this  Church  will  never  have  a  minister  who  will  spend 
his  time  so  unprotitably. 

"  Besides,  a  minister's  private  judgment  on  public  affairs 
is  his  own  property  :  as  much  so  as  the  private  judgment 
of  any  other  citizen  is  the  property  of  that  citizen.  It  is 
lodged  in  a  sanctuary  which  no  man  has  a  right  to  invade. 
The  owner  of  that  sanctuary  may  open  it,  or  not,  as  he 
pleases ;  but  no  one  can  force  it  open  without  being  guilty 
of  impertinence  and  oitpression. 

"  If  a  minister  cannot  justly  be  required  to  declare  his 
politics,  much  less  can  he  be  required  to  preach  them.  He 
has  a  right  to  preach  them,  if  such  be  his  convictions  of 
duty,  but  he  has  an  equal  right  to  withhold  them.  In 
either  case  he  is  responsible  to  his  Maker,  and  to  his  own 
conscience,  for  the  course  he  pursues.  He  is  also  respon- 
sible to  his  people, — to  this  extent,  that  if  they  deem  his 
course  objectionable,  and  if  that  course  is  persisted  in,  they 
have  a  right,  as  individuals,  to  withdraw  from  his  ministry ; 
or  as  a  Church  and  8ociety,  to  dissolve  their  connection 
with  him,  under  proper  forms,  subject  to  all  the  obligations 
and  conditions  of  his  settlement.  Thousands  of  Churches 
and  religious  Societies  in  this  our  land  have  been  broken 
up  or  depleted  by  one  or  the  other  of  these  processes.  We 
need  not  go  beyond  our  own  city  to  find  an  illustration. 
How  else  can  the  fact  be  accounted  for,  that  the  aggregate 
attendance  upon  Congregational  Cluirches  in  this  city  has 
scarcely  if  at  all  increased  within  the  last  25  or  30  years, 
although  in  the  mean  time  the  population  of  the  city  has 
increased  three-fold?  Within  the  same  period,  another  de- 
nomination in  this  city,  from  whose  pulpits,  as  a  general 
remark,  political  topics  are  excluded,  has  greatly  increased, 
both  in  the  number  of  its  churches,  and  in  the  affgre^ate 


96  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL. 

attendance.  Congregationalism  had  the  ground,  and  would 
have  kept  it  if  there  had  been  no  drawback  upon  its  admin- 
istration. 

"  Now,  to  bring  the  subject  home  to  ourselves, — we  have 
a  minister  who  does  7iot  deem  it  his  duty  to  preach  politics, 
but  who  does  deem  it  liis  duty  7iot  to  preach  them.  He 
prays  for  our  country,  our  rulers,  our  civil  institutions,  our 
liberties,  our  officers  and  soldiers,  especially  the  sick  and 
wounded,  but  he  does  not  cater  to  the  appetites  of  politicians 
of  any  party.  He  pursues  the  one  great  object  for  which 
he  was  commissioned  as  an  ambassador  for  Christ,  leaving 
secular  topics  to  secular  days  and  secular  men ;  or  perchance 
to  those  ministers,  if  sucli  there  be,  who  desecrate  the  Sab- 
batli  and  the  pulpit  by  nuiking  both  subservient  to  political 
ends.  AVlietlier  Mr.  Carroll  remains  with  us  for  a  longer 
or  shorter  period,  there  is  no  probability  that  he  will  change 
his  course  in  this  respect,  as  it  is  founded  upon  settled  con- 
victions of  duty,  and  these  cannot  be  yielded  to  friends  or 
foes.  Now  suppose,  to  gratify  a  few  of  our  members  who 
require  a  different  style  of  preaching  and  praying,  we  con- 
sent to  give  up  our  minister  after  his  present  engagement 
shall  have  expired — what  then  l  Are  we  to  have  a  man  in 
his  stead  who  will  give  us  political  preaching  and  praying  ? 
Is  this  Church  to  have  such  a  man  for  its  Pastor  in  place 
of  Mr.  Carroll  ?  If  it  is,  I  greatly  fear  that  our  prosperity 
is  near  its  end.  But  if  the  Church  will  regard  itself  as  an 
organization  for  strictly  religious  purposes,  everything  will 
be  likely  to  move  on  harmoniously  and  prosperously ;  for 
there  a]ipears  to  be  no  other  subject  of  difference.  On  this 
basis  all  can  meet,  on  equal  terms,  and  work  together  for 
the  common  cause : — Parthians  ami  Meues  and  Elamites, 
and  the  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia  and  in  .Judea  antl  Cappa- 
docia,  in  Pontus  and  Asia,  I'hrygia  and  I'amphylia,  in 
Egypt  and  in  the  parts  of  Lybia  about  Cyrene,  and 
strangers  of  Rome,  Jews  and  Proselytes,  Cretes  and  Ara- 
bians,— Democrats  and  Republicans,  Abolitionists,  Seces- 
sionists and  Traitors.  And  the  greater  sinners  they  are, 
the  more  they  need  the  pure  Gospel  of  Christ,  which  is 
able  to  make  them  all  wise  unto  salvation. 

"  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  men  who  arc  loudest 
in  their  complaints  against  Mr.  Carroll,  are  those  who  know 


MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL.  97 

least  about  him.  How  is  it  that  men  who  have  seldom  if 
ever  spoken  with  him,  and  have  rarelj'  heard  him  preach  or 
pray,  should  understand  liis  views,  and  also  his  character 
and  history,  so  much  better  than  we  do,  "  who  have  been 
with  him  Irom  the  beginning,"  listened  to  all  his  sermons, 
— who  have  seen  him  in  the  prayer  meeting  and  conference 
room  times  without  number, — met  him  at  the  fireside,  in 
the  chamber  of  sickness,  and  in  the  home  of  soitow, — in 
short,  who  have  seen  and  heard  him  continually  for  the  last 
nine  months,  in  all  the  ditferent  phases  of  ministerial  and 
pastoral  life.  Yet  such  men  come  to  us  at  this  late  day, 
and  tell  us,  in  effect,  that  we  have  made  a  great  mistake  in 
the  choice  of  our  Pastor,  and  should  by  no  means  retain 
him  longer  than  the  period  for  which  he  is  now  engaged. 
Well,  they  are  entitled  to  their  opinion,  and  we  to  ours. 
"VVe  knoiv  what  he  is.  We  have  listened  to  his  heart-search- 
ing discourses,  his  thrilling  appeals,  his  fervent  prayers, 
and  his  faithful  warnings.  We  have  felt  the  breathings  of 
his  gentle  spirit  upon  our  hearts,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  upon 
his  own  and  upon  ours.  We  have  seen  the  effects  of  his 
ministry  in  greatly  increased  congregations  on  the  Sabbath, 
in  fully  attended  prayer  meetings  during  the  week,  in  a 
goodly  number  added  to  the  Church  or  propounded  for 
admission ;  in  others  still  seeking  the  way  of  life ;  in  a 
Sabbath  School  of  230  members  actually  attending ;  in  a 
large  and  prosperous  Sewing  Society ;  and  in  a  pervading 
religious  interest,  more  or  less  apparent,  throughout  the  con- 
gregation. And  should  he  still  "abide  with  us,"  assisted  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Barrett,  we  may  hope  for  yet  greater  things  than 
these.  God  grant  that  it  may  be  so ;  and  that  this  Church 
and  Society  may  not  so  undervalue  their  inestimable  privi- 
leges, as  to  sell  them  for  a  mess  of  pottage." 

At  a  late  hour  of  the  evening,  the  question  was 
taken  on  the  resolutions,  and  they  were  adopted,  by 
a  vote  of  fifty-one  to  twenty-two.  They  were  then 
communicated  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Society  connected 
with  the  South  Church,  which  met  the  same  evening 
agreeably  to  public  notice  ;  whereupon  the  Society 


98  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL. 

adopted  the  following  resolution,  with  only  one  dis- 
senting voice : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  resolutions  of  the  South  Church, 
communicated  to  us  hy  its  Clerk,  in  regard  to  the  future 
supply  of  the  pulpit  of  that  Church,  are  cordially  approved 
by  this  Society,  and  that  a  Committee  consisting  of  Deacon 
Thomas  Horsfall,  be  instructed  to  endeavor  to  carry  the 
proposed  arrangement  into  effect." 

It  was  carried  into  effect  accordingly  ;  and  the 
same  arrangement  still  continues.  So  far,  it  appears 
to  be  a  very  good  arrangement ;  giving  both  to  min- 
ister and  people  all  the  freedom  of  action  they  could 
desire,  while  yet  it  requires  no  periodical  agitation, 
as  in  the  case  of  ministers  who  are  engaged  from  year 
to  year.  The  result  of  the  meeting  was  of  course  a 
disappointment  to  the  opponents  of  Mr.  Carroll,  and 
soon  after  [in  March,  1863]  a  number  of  them  asked 
and  received  certificates  of  dismission, — some  to  par- 
ticular churches, — while  others  took  general  letters, 
having  reference,  it  was  understood,  to  the  formation 
of  a  new  Church.  The  Clerk  also  resigned,  [in  April,] 
who,  under  the  practice  then  existing,  would  have  had 
a  right,  as  he  would  doubtless  have  been  disposed,  to 
call  as  many  Church  meetings  as  the  disaffected 
might  desire.  Some  time  previously  the  Society  had 
been  freed  in  a  great  measure  from  the  elements  of 
opposition,  as  appears  from  the  all  but  unanimous 
vote  above  recorded.  Tlius  far,  the  ])olicy  of  the 
opposition  liad  seemed  to  be,  to  desert  the  sinking 
ship,  and  leave  that  portion  of  the  crew  who  remained, 


MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR,    CARROLL.  99 

too  weak,  or  too  much  di.slieartened,  to  carry  her  into 
port.  But  the  eflfect  was  exactly  the  contrary.  Both 
the  Church  and  Society  were  chereed  and  encouraged 
by  the  absence  of  a  power  which,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  had  been  available  only  for  mischief.  True, 
there  were  individuals  among  the  opposition,  includ- 
ing one  of  the  Deacons,  who  had  performed  their 
duties  faithfully  towards  the  Church  and  Society,  as 
they  understood  them  ;  but  others  were  a  mere  dead- 
weight, doing  nothing  towards  the  support  of  public 
worship,  and  seldom  attending  the  religious  exercises 
of  the  Church,  though  always  on  hand,  or  liable  to 
be  so,  whenever  there  was  any  voting  to  be  done. 

In  July  [1863]  a  little  incident  occun-ed  which 
jiromised  for  a  time  to  give  them  considerable  capi- 
tal ;  we  allude  to  the  bell  affair.  A  few  members 
who  had  before  been  wavering,  seemed  now  to  be 
with  the  opposition.  The  leaders  of  the  movement 
took  heart,  and  under  the  excitement  of  the  hour, 
seemed  really  to  ho2)e  to  accomplish  their  object. 
Accordingly  they  got  up  a  paper,  with  as  many  signa- 
tures as  could  be  obtained,  requesting  the  Clerk  to 
call  a  meeting  of  the  Church,  in  order  to  consider  the 
expediency  of  ashing  Mr.  Carroll  to  resign.  But 
here  a  new  diflficulty  presented  itself.  In  place  of  the 
resigned  Clerk,  a  successsor  had  been  elected  (Rev. 
Mr.  Barrett)  who  was  not  in  sympathy  with  the 
"  movement"  party.  When  therefore  the  disaffected 
members  applied  to  him  for  the  above  object,  he  saw 
fit  to  exercise  his  discretion,  under  the  advice  of  the 


100  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL. 

Standing  Committee,  by  refusing  to  call  the  proposed 
meeting.  This  led  to  a  further  secession  of  disaffected 
members,  (including  the  aforesaid  Deacon,)  who 
asked  and  received  certificates  of  dismission- — general 
letters — July  31st  and  August  4th.  In  a  few  days 
or  weeks  the  bell  excitement  passed  away ;  the  old 
Church  was  there  yet,  and  its  minister  also.  He 
appeared  to  have  no  idea  of  leaving  ;  it  was  impos- 
sible to  get  a  Church  meeting  at  that  time  ;  and  if  a 
Church  meeting  were  held,  especially  after  this  latest 
secesssion,  there  would  be  no  chance  of  voting  him 
away.  Under  such  circumstances,  what  was  to  be 
done  ?  Clearly,  they  must  give  up  in  despair,  or 
endeavor  to  retrieve  their  error.  Somehow  or  other, 
they  must  get  back  into  the  garrison,  where  they 
could  have  more  jDOwer  over  it  than  they  could  as 
mere  outsiders  and  enemies.  So  they  sought  to  re- 
turn their  certificates  of  dismission  and  resume  their 
membership.  But  the  Church  (practically)  said  no  ; 
we  have  dismissed  you  at  your  own  request ;  and  now 
we  must  hold  you  to  the  bargain.  We  cannot  receive 
you  back.  Here  was  a  dilemma,  to  be  sure  ;  and  it 
required  all  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  and  all  the 
ingenuity  of  the  sagacious,  to  tell  them  what  to  do. 
Various  consultations  were  held  with  each  other,  and 
with  friends  in  town.  We  were  not  there,  but  may 
safely  infer  what  was  the  result  of  their  deliberations, 
from  the  course  subsequently  pursued.  Call  a  Coun- 
cil, they  said ;  a  Mutual  Council,  if  the  South 
Church  will  consent ;  if  not,  then  an  Ex-parte  Coun- 


MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL.  101 

cil,  which  will  answer  just  as  well  ;  for,  in  either 
case,  they  are  sure  to  be  condemned.  If  they  consent 
to  a  Mutual  Council,  you  will  be  restored  to  your 
rights  as  members,  and,  with  such  re-inforcements  as 
you  can  get  from  other  quarters,  will  soon  be  able  to 
out-vote  them.  But  if  they  refuse  that  bait,  then  do 
you  call  an  Ex-parte  Council,  which  will  be  still  more 
sure  to  condemn  them,  as  all  the  evidence,  and  all 
the  pleas,  and  all  the  judges,  will  be  on  one  side. 
Such  a  Council  will  doubtless  unchurch  the  old  con- 
cern, and  either  pronounce  you  the  South  Church 
instead  of  them,  or  assist  you  in  building  and  organ- 
izing a  new  Church,  where  the  "whole  Gospel"  shall 
be  preached.  So  the  disaffected  members, — those 
who  had  asked  and  received  letters  of  dismission  and 
those  who  had  not, — gravely  applied  to  the  South 
Church  to  join  them  in  a  Mutual  Council.  As  they 
expected,  the  Church  declined.  Or  rather,  the  Clerk, 
with  the  unanimous  approval  of  the  Standing  Com- 
mittee, refused  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Church  to 
consider  the  question ;  and  the  Church,  at  their 
annual  meeting  a  short  time  afterwards,  (Nov.  24, 
1863,)  passed  a  resolution  approving  the  action  of  the 
Committee,  and  declaring  that  in  future  "  the  power 
to  call  a  Church  meeting  for  business,  shall  rest  in 
the  Church  Committee  together  with  the  Clerk." 
Thus  the  way  was  prepared  for  the  calling  of  an 
Ex-parte  Council. 

During   all   these   agitations,    which   were   aimed 
chiefly  against   Mr.  Carroll,   in   the   hope  of  either 

9 


102  MINISTRY    OF    REV.    MR.    CARROLL. 

driviii"-  or  mortifying  him  away,  he  maintained  a 
calmness  of  demeanor  and  a  steadiness  of  purpose, 
which  even  his  opponents  cannot  fail  to  respect. 
Such  moral  heroism,  lodged  in  such  a  delicate  phys- 
ical structure,  (or  any  other.)  is  rarely  to  he  met 
with.  But  all  these  troubles  are  now  over  ;  even  his 
enemies  are  at  peace  with  him.  At  least  they  are 
comparatively  silent,  while  his  friends,  and  the  com_ 
munity  generally,  honor  and  applaud  him.  We 
doubt  if  to-day  there  is  a  more  popular  minister  in 
New  Haven.  Certainly  there  is  no  one  whom  the 
public  manifest  a  greater  desire  to  hear. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  EX-PARTE  COUNCIL. 

The  following  is  a  cojiy  of  the  letter  missive  by 
which  the  Ex-parte  Council  was  convened  : 

"  The  AFajoriiy  of  the  Brotherhood  of  tlie  South  Congre- 
gational   Church   in   New  Haven,  to  the  Congregational 

Church  in . 

"Brethren:  We  having  been  deprived  by  usurped  au- 
thority of  the  rights  which  belong  to  a  Congregational 
Church,  and  having  stated  our  grievances  in  a  memorial, 
asking  for  a  Mutual  Council,  which  memorial  was  rejected 
by  those  who  have  assumed  the  power  of  government  iu 
this  Church,  do  therefore  invite  you  to  be  present  by  your 
pastor  and  delegate  in  an  Ecclesiastical  Council,  at  the 
Orange  street  Chapel  in  New  Haven,  on  Monday  the  21st 
inst.,  at  4  P,  M.,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  difficul- 
ties existing  in  this  Church  as  exhibited  in  our  memorial 
and  in  the  action  thereupon,  and  of  advising  us  concerning 
our  rights  and  our  duty. 

E.  S.  MINOR,  ] 

JOHN  NICOLL, 

AMOS  SMITH, 

G.  H.  BUTRICKS,  >  Committee. 

WM.  C.  SCOBIE, 

ROBERT  DYAS, 

GEORGE  S.  MINOR.     ) 

New  Haven,  Dec.  12,  1863. 

The  Council  accordingly  met  at  the  time  and  jdace 
above  mentioned,  and  was  organized  hy  the  choice  of 
Rev.  Wm.  T.  Eustis,  as  Scribe,  and  Rev.  Joseph  Eld- 
ridge,  D.  D.,  as  Moderator.  There  were  present  from 
the 


104  THE   EX-PARTE    COUNCIL, 

First  Church,  Hartford — Rev.  Joel  Hawes,  D.  D.,  Pas- 
tor ;  Hon.  William  W.  Ellsworth,  Delegate. 

First  Chnrch,  New  Haven — Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D., 
Pastor  ;  Rev.  Chauncey  Goodrich,  Delegate. 

Church  in  Norfolk — Rev.  Joseph  Eldridge,  Pastor ;  Bro- 
ther Robbins  Battell,  Delegate. 

North  Church,  New  Haven — Rev.  S.  W.  S.  Dutton, 
Pastor. 

Church  in  Wallingford— Rev.  Edwin  R.  Gilbert,  Pastor  j 
Deacon  John  Atwater,  Delegate. 

Broadway  Cburcb,  Norwich — Rev.  C.  P.  Gulliver,  Pastor. 

Chapel  Street  Church,  New  Haven — Rev.  Wm.  T.  Eus- 
tis,  Pastor  ;  Deacon  Smith  Merwin,  Delegate. 

Third  Church,  New  Haven — Hon,  John  Woodruff,  Dele- 
gate. 

Church  in  Greenwich — Brother  Allen  Howe,  Delegate. 

Church  in  Bristol — Deacon  William  Day,  Delegate, 

Church  in  Essex- — Rev.  James  A.  Gallup,  Pastor  ;  Dea- 
con Charles  H.  Hubbard,  Delegate, 

Church  in  Theological  Institute — Rev,  E.  A.  Lawrence, 
Delegate. 

The  South  Church,  having  had  no  agency  in  get- 
ting up  this  Council,  and  having  declined  to  recog- 
nize it  in  any  way,  or  even  to  present  their  records,  as 
requested  by  the  Council,  cannot  be  presumed  to 
know  what  occurred  there  during  its  three  days  sit- 
tings, commencing  December  21st,  1863,  and  ending 
December  23d,  except  so  far  as  the  same  has  been  re- 
vealed or  indicated  by  the  published  Result  of  Coun- 
cil, which  is  as  follows  : 

RESULT  OF  THE  COUNCIL, 

Called  by  "  the  Majority  of  the  Brethren  of  the  South  Con- 
gregational Church,  Xeiv  Tlaveft." 
This  Council  has  been  convened  by  certain  brethren 
styling  themselves  "the  majority  of  the  brethren  of  the 
South  Congregational  Church  in  New  Haven,"  and  com- 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  105 

plaining  that  they  "  have  been  deprived  of  the  rights  which 
belong  to  brethren  in  a  Congregational  Church."  AVhether 
they  are,  or  are  not,  entitled  to  the  rights  of  a  majority,  is 
a  question  upon  which  we  are  not  called  to  express  an 
opinion,  for  it  is  not  material  to  any  of  the  issues  involved 
in  their  complaint.  These  brethren,  twenty  or  more  in 
number,  have  addressed  the  Chuix-h  in  a  memorial  asking 
for  a  mutual  council  to  consider  certain  matters  by  which 
they  are  aggrieved,  and  their  request  has  been  denied. 
Their  right,  therefore,  of  obtaining  advice  from  neighbor 
Churchps  through  an  cx-parte  council,  in  conformity  with  a 
reasonable  and  long  established  usage  of  the  New  England 
Churches,  cannot  be  disputed. 

First  of  all,  tliis  Council  has  made  a  communication  to 
the  Church  through  its  Clerk  and  Standing  Committee, 
and  also  to  the  Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll,  as  another  party 
interested  in  the  matters  referred  to  us,  inviting  them  to 
appear  and  offer  any  explauatidus  which  they  may  desire 
to  make  concerning  the  transactions  complained  of.  But 
these  invitations  have  been  explicitly  declined.  We  are 
sorry  to  add,  that  we  have  been  denied  all  access  to  the 
records  of  the  Church,  and  that  the  complainants  have  not 
been  able  to  obtain  authenticated  copies  of  the  records, 
which  they  desired  to  present  for  our  consideration. 

Having  carefully  considered  the  documents  sulmiitted  to 
us  in  l)ehalf  of  the  complainants  by  their  committee,  and 
having  heard  such  testhnony  as  they,  in  the  disadvantageous 
circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed,  have  been  able  to 
adduce,  we  find  tlie  following  matters  of  fact : 

I.  The  Church  in  question  was  instituted  as  a  Congrega- 
tional Church,  with  the  advice  and  approbation  of  a  council 
of  Congregational  Churches,  and  the  complainants  became 
members  of  it,  in  the  warranted  expectation  (hat  tliey  were 
to  enjoy  all  the  rights  belonging  to  the  brethren  of  a  Con- 
gregational Church,  according  to  the  principles  and  usages 
of  the  New  England  Churches. 

II.  The  Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll  commenced  his  labors 
at  the  South  Church  in  December,  1861,  being  invited  by 
the  Society's  Commit (ee  to  officiate  as  a  candidate.  Ho 
was  soon  afterwards  employed  by  concurrent  votes  of  the 

9* 


106  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

Church  and  Society  to  supply  the  pulpit  for  a  year.  Before 
the  termination  of  the  year,  a  meeting  of  the  Church  was 
held  to  consider  the  question  of  a  more  permanent  settle- 
ment of  Mr.  Carroll  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  there.  An 
arrangement  was  made,  purporting  to  be  between  the 
Church  and  Society  as  one  party,  and  Mi:  Carroll  as  the 
other  party,  by  wliich  he  was  to  remain  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry  among  them  indefinitely,  and  which  could  be  ter- 
minated only  when  either  party  should  give  four  months 
notice  of  a  desu-e  for  the  termination. 

III.  In  that  meeting  the  majority  of  the  male  members 
present  voted  against  the  proposed  arrangement,  but  their 
votes  were  oveiTuled  by  counting  the  votes  of  female  mem- 
bers. 

IV.  The  aforesaid  arrangement  having  been  made,  Mr. 
Carroll  assumed  the  title  and  authority  of  "  Pastor  of  the 
South  Church,"  subscribing  official  papers  in  that  charac- 
ter, being  habitually  spoken  of  among  the  members  of  the 
Church,  and  in  Church  meetings,  by  that  official  title,  and 
being  frequently  announced  to  the  public  as  Pastor  of  that 
Church. 

V.  Certain  members  of  the  Church,  fourteen  in  number, 
being  dissatisfied  with  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Carroll,  and 
desiring  that  notice  might  be  duly  given  to  him  for  the  ter- 
mination of  the  arrangement,  presented  to  the  Clerk  of  the 
Church  their  written  request  for  a  Church  meeting,  which 
request  was  refused  by  the  Clerk  and  Standing  Committee. 

VI.  Afterwards  the  same  brethren  av.d  olliers,  twenty  in 
all,  addressed  their  memorial  to  the  Chiu'ch,  stating  dis- 
tinctly the  grounds  of  their  dissatisfaction  with  these  pro- 
ceedings and  with  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Carroll,  and  asking 
for  a  Council  of  Churches,  to  be  mutually  agreed  upon,  who 
should  advise  with  the  Church  and  the  complainants.  The 
Clerk,  to  whose  hands  the  memorial  was  committed,  refused, 
by  the  advice  of  the  Stan  ling  Committee,  to  lay  it  before 
the  Church. 

VII.  Between  the  time  when  the  request  was  made  for  a 
Church  meeting  and  tlie  time  of  preparing  the  memorial, 
some  of  the  complainants  asked  and  received  letters  of 
commendation,  in  the  ordinary  form,  by  which  their  mem- 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL,  107 

bership  in  the  Church  would  be  terminated  whenever  they 
niiglit  become  meml)ers  of  other  churches.  But  in  the 
memorial  those  brethren  gave  notice  to  the  Church  that, 
upon  mature  deliberation,  they  had  relinquished  their  inten- 
tion of  connecting  themselves  with  other  churches ;  and 
they  remained,  in  the  language  of  the  testimonials  which 
had  been  given  them,  "  members  of  the  South  Congrega- 
tional Church." 

VIII.  The  reply  which  the  Clerk,  by  the  direction  of  the 
Standing  Committee,  returned  to  the  signers  of  the  memo- 
rial, was  addressed  "  To  Amos  Smith,  G.  H.  Butricks,  and 
as  many  other  signers  of  the  above-named  request  as  are 
still  recognized  members  of  the  Church;"  the  said  Clerk 
and  Committee  thereby  assuming  to  exclude  from  member- 
ship those  signers  who  held  at  that  moment  the  written 
testimonials  of  the  Church  to  their  good  and  regular  stand- 
ing. 

IX.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Church,  held  on  the 
evening  of  Novemlier  24,  1863,  Mr.  Carroll,  acting  as  mod- 
erator, denied  to  the  members  above  mentioned  the  right  of 
voting,  or  of  speaking  in  defence  of  their  right  to  vote ;  and 
that  denial  was  approved  by  the  meeting.  The  same  meet- 
ing ratified  all  the  doings  of  the  Committee,  including  their 
suppression  of  the  memorial. 

X.  The  reasons  for  the  dissatisfaction  with  the  ministry 
of  Mr.  Carroll,  presented  to  us  by  the  complainants,  and 
sustained  by  such  evidence  as  the  nature  of  this  investiga- 
tion has  made  practicable,  are  the  following : 

1.  They  had,  at  the  time  of  his  settlement,  no  proper 
evidence  that  he  was  an  ordained  minister  of  the  Gospel  in 
regular  communion  with  the  Congregational  churches  and 
ministers  of  Connecticut,  or  with  any  evangelical  denom.i- 
uation. 

2.  Under  his  ministry  there  has  been  in  the  public  wor- 
ship of  that  Church,  and  in  the  lessons  from  the  pulpit,  no 
utterance  of  sympathy  with  our  country -in  its  struggle  for 
imity  and  life ;  no  expression  of  loyal  desire  for  the  success 
of  the  Government,  or  the  defeat  of  the  rebellion;  no  word 
implying  that  the  attempts  of  the  rebels  to  subvert  by  force 
the  Goveniment  ordained  by  God  in  this  land,  is  criminal ; 


108  THE    EX-PAKTE    COUNCIL. 

no  recognition  of  the  righteousness  of  the  cause  in  which 
sons  and  brothers  of  the  complainants,  some  of  them  mem- 
bers of  the  same  Church,  are  offering  their  lives. 

3.  In  the  pulpit  and  in  private  conversation  he  has  char- 
acterized the  action  of  the  Government  as  tyrannical  and 
unjust,  and  has  implied  that  the  attempt  of  the  Government 
to  maintain  itself  by  force  against  the  rebellion,  is  criminal; 
and  when  members  of  the  Church  have  courteously  inquired 
of  him  concerning  his  views,  that  they  might  know  whether 
he  had  been  misunderstood  on  these  points,  he  has  refused 
to  give  any  satisiactory  answer. 

4.  He  lias  borne  no  testimony  against  the  wicked  doc- 
trine of  these  times,  that  it  is  right  for  white  men  to  make 
slaves  of  black  men ;  but  on  the  contrary,  he  has  used  his 
influence  to  suppress  in  the  meetings  of  the  Church  all 
allusion  to  the  injustice  of  slavery. 

5.  He  has  by  his  private  and  public  influence  brought 
certain  young  [)ersons  of  the  congregation  hito  open  sym- 
pathy with  the  existing  rebellion. 

These  being  the  facts  as  we  find  them,  our  judgment  is, 
First.  It  is  a  distinctive  and  cardinal  principle  of  our 
New  England  Congregationalism,  tluit  no  person  yhall  be 
invested  with  the  pastoral  othce  in  any  Church,  otherwise 
than  by  tlie  advice  and  consent  uf  neighboring  churches 
represented  in  a  council ;  that  a  minority,  liowever  humble, 
objecting  to  the  person  chosen  by  the  majority  of  the 
Church,  may  have  full  opportunitj'  to  present  the  reasons 
for  their  disst-nt  before  llie  council  convened  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ordaining  or  installing  liini ;  and  that  no  man  can 
be  imposed  u])on  them  as  their  pastor,  unless  their  objec- 
tions, after  a  fair  hearing  and  consideration,  are  removed  or 
overruled  by  the  council. 

Second.  Mr.  Carroll  is  not,  in  the  proper  use  of  lan- 
guage, pastor  of  the  South  Congregational  Church  in  New 
Hayen,  nor  is  he  "Acting  Pastor,"  as  that  term  is  defined 
by  the  General  Association  of  Connecticut.  Any  assump- 
tion of  the  title  of  ])astor  on  his  i)art  is  unwarranted,  and 
the  arrangements  and  proceedings  by  which  he  has  been 
invested  with  the  powers  of  a  pastor  in  that  (^'hurch,  with- 
out the  intervention  of  a  council  of  neighboring  churches  to 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  109 

inquire  into  his  qualifications  for  tliai  oftice,  are  a  contempt 
put  upon  tlie  principle  of  communion  of  cliurclies,  and  a 
violation  of  the  rights  of  the  complainants. 

Third.  The  voting  (»f  women  in  the  Church,  by  which,  in 
the  settlement  of  Mr.  Carroll,  the  majority  of  the  brethren 
was  overruled,  is  contrary  to  the  Scriptures  (I.  Cor.  xix.  34 ; 
I.  Tim.  xi.  12)  and  contrary  to  the  usages  and  principles  of 
the  New  England  churches,  and  invalidates  the  act  of  a 
majoritv,  which  was  made  such  by  these  votes. 

Fourth.  The  refusal  of  the  Clerk  and  Standing  Commit- 
tee to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Church  at  the  written  request 
of  fourteen  brethren,  (who  were  nearly  one-third  of  the 
brotherhood),  for  the  express  pui-i^ose  of  requesting  Mr. 
Carroll  to  resign  his  place,  as  provided  for  by  the  arrange- 
ment under  which  he  was  settled,  was  not  only  a  violation 
of  the  compact,  by  which  the  question  of  his  retirement  is 
made  at  all  times  a  proper  question  for  consideration  in  the 
Church,  whether  with  or  without  charges  against  his  offi- 
cial character ;  but  was  a  gross  usurpation  on  the  part  of 
the  Clerk  and  Committee,  alike  hostile  to  the  rights  of  the 
members  and  destructive  of  the  organization  of  a  Congre- 
gational Church ;  and  the  refusal  of  the  same  functionaries 
to  present  a  respectful  memorial  from  twenty  members  to 
the  Church,  was  a  similar  irregularity  and  wrong.  The 
ratification  of  these  proceedings  by  the  annual  Church 
meeting  may  justly  be  regarded  as  an  additional  grievance. 

Fifth.  The  brethren  who  had  received  letters  of  dismis- 
sion, but  who,  in  a  formal  communication  to  the  Church, 
had  announced  their  purpose  not  to  connect  themselves 
with  other  churches,  but  to  retain  their  membership  in  the 
South  Church,  were  unjustly  excluded  from  participation 
in  the  annual  meeting  of  that  Church,  The  decision  of  the 
moderator,  Mr.  Carroll,  that  they  were  not  members,  and 
the  confirmation  of  that  decision  by  the  meeting,  can  not 
but  be  condemned  as  an  arbitrary  and  unjust  proceeding. 
Those  brethren  are  still,  according  to  the  purport  oT  the 
testimonials  which  they  had  received,  members  of  the 
South  Church  in  regular  standing. 

Sixth.  The  reasons  for  dissatisfaction  with  the  ministry 
of  Mr.  Carroll,  as  alleged  and  proved  by  the  complainants, 
are  valid. 


110  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

1.  It  is  a  sufficient  reason  for  dissatisfaction  with  his 
ministry,  that  he  was  employed  by  the  Cliurch  and  Society 
without  exliibiting  any  proper  and  adequate  proof  of  his 
regular  standing  in  the  ministry. 

2.  The  sympathy  of  Mr.  Carroll  with  the  existing  rebel- 
lion, exhibited  as  it  has  been,  not  only  negatively  by  his 
not  saying  the  things  which  he  ought  to  have  said,  but 
positively,  by  saying  what  he  ought  not  to  have  said 
against  the  Government,  and  against  the  struggle  of  the 
nation  to  defend  itself,  and  to  perpetuate  the  inheritance  it 
has  received  from  God ;  his  personal  influence  in  the  con- 
gregation, "leading  captive"  unthinking  and  unstable  per- 
sons into  outspoken  sympathy  with  the  most  stupendous 
crime  recorded  in  history  since  Christ  was  crucified,  and 
his  silence  in  regai'd  to  the  atrocious  heresy,  religious  and 
ethical,  now  so  widely  maintained,  that  it  is  right  for  white 
men  to  make  slaves  of  black  men,  being  made  more  signifi- 
cant by  his  endeavors  to  suppress  in  the  Church  all  allu- 
sions to  so  great  a  wickedness,  are  sufficient  grounds  for 
formal  charges  against  him ;  and  being  proved  on  trial,  are 
sufficient  for  his  condemnation,  if  there  be  any  ecclesiasti- 
cal body  to  which  he  is  responsible. 

Such  being  the  facts,  and  our  judgment  upon  them,  we 
are  prepared  to  answer  the  questions  which  the  complain- 
ants have  proposed  to  us  for  our  advice  : 

First.  In  consideration  of  the  facts  which  have  appeared 
before  this  Council,  and  which  we  have  already  recited,  we 
advise  the  complainants  that  the  South  Congregational 
Church,  so  called,  ought  not  to  be  recognized  any  longer 
as  a  Congregational  Churcli,  and  as  a  Council  we  advise 
the  Churches  which  we  represent,  and  all  other  Churches  of 
our  communion,  to  withhold  from  that  Church  those  acts  of 
mutual  recognition  and  f.dlowship  which  are  customary 
among  Congregational  Churches,  and  which  are  the  form  of 
their  unity  as  an  ecclesiastical  commonwealth. 

Second.  We  advise  the  complainants,  and  as  many  other 
members  of  that  Church  as  may  associate  with  them,  to 
withdraw  from  their  present  relations  to  it.  And  we  au- 
thorize our  Moderator  and  Scribe  to  give  to  them,  collect- 
ively or  individually,  in  our  behalf,  letters  certifying  their 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  Ill 

regular  standing  as  professed  followers  of  Christ  in  full 
communion  with  the  Congregational  Churches  of  Connecti- 
cut, and  commending  them  to  any  Church  with  which  they 
may  choose  to  connect  themselves,  or  to  any  ecclesiastical 
council  which  may  be  convened  for  the  purpose  of  recog- 
nizing the  formation  of  a  new  Church.  The  question 
whether  they  shall  proceed  to  constitute  a  new  Church  in 
the  south  part  of  the  city  of  Xew  Haven,  is  a  question  to 
be  determined  partly  by  local  considerations,  with  which 
they,  and  the  members  of  the  other  Churches  here,  are  bet- 
ter acquainted  than  this  Council  can  be.  Yet  we  cannot 
refrain  from  saying  that,  for  the  sake  of  patriotism  and  of 
pure  and  undefiled  religion,  there  ought  to  be  among  the 
growing  population  of  that  quarter  a  truly  Congregational 
Church,  from  which  the  sympathies  of  patriotic  Christian 
souls  may  freely  go  up  to  God  on  the  wings  of  prayer  and 
praise,  and  in  which  the  whole  counsel  of  God,  "revealed 
from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of 
men  who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness,"  shall  be 
preached  plainly  and  unswervingly. 

REV.  JOSEPH  ELDRIDGE, 

Moderator. 
TV.  T.  EusTis,  Scribe. 


REPLY  OF  THE  SOUTH  CHURCH 

To  THE  LATE  ECCLESIASTICAL  COUNCIL. 

The  following  reply  of  the  Standing  Committee  of 
the  South  Congregational  Church,  to  the  action  of 
the  Ex-parte  Council  recently  held  in  this  city,  was 
submitted  to  said  Church  on  Friday  evening,  Jan. 
1st,  1864,  and  by  the  Church  was  unanimously 
approved,  and  ordered  to  be  published. 

Whereas,  an  Ex-parte  Council,  representing  twelve  of 
the  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  consociated  Congrega- 
tional Churches  in  this  State,  has  been  lately  held  in  New 
Haven,  at  the  request  of  twenty  petitioners,  now  or  recently 


112  THE   EX-PARTE   COUNCIL. 

connected  with  the  South  Congregational  Church,  for  the 
professed  purpose  of  advising  them  "concerning  their 
rights  and  their  duty ;"  and  whereas,  in  advising  them,  said 
Council  liave  sat  in  judgment  on  this  entire  Church  and 
upon  our  ministers ;  and,  whei'eas,  the  Council  has  given 
to  the  public  its  proceedings  and  result,  which  result  has 
been  telegraphed  throughout  the  country ;  we  owe  it  to  our- 
selves, as  a  Church,  to  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll,  as  our  minister, 
and  to  truth  and  justice,  that  "Caq  facts  in  thft  case  be  stated 
and  published  through  the  same  channels. 

As  this  Council  has  seen  fit  to  vindicate  its  decision  to 
the  public,  however  degrading  to  a  Church  judicatory  we 
feel  such  an  appeal  to  be,  we  are  compelled  to  suffer  in 
silence,  or  respond  before  the  same  tribunal. 

The  'petitioners  for  the  Council,  members  of  the  South 
Congregational  Chitrch,  ARE  NOT,  as  they  claim  to  be, 
"a  majority  of  the  Brethren'^  of  said  Church. 

When  tiie  Council  was  convoked,  we  had  forty-seven 
male  members,  not  including  those  who  had  taken  letters 
of  dismission.  [See  Church  records.]  Of  this  forty-seven, 
but  fifteen,  including  absent  members,  were  petitioners  for 
the  Council. 

The  distinction  indicated  by  the  term  "Brethren"  in 
connection  with  voting,  has  never  been  sanctioned  by  any 
resolution  or  vote  of  the  South  Church.  The  right  of 
voting  by  females  has  never  been  denied  by  the  Church, 
and  the  exercise  of  this  right  obtained  and  was  practiced 
prior  to  the  llev.  Mr.  Carroll's  coming  among  us.  It  has 
simply  been  continued,  not  inaugurated,  during  his  adminis- 
tration. In  the  early  part  of  1861,  the  vote  of  the  Church 
on  the  question  of  accepting  llev.  Mr.  Noyes'  resignation, 
(as  was  testified  before  the  Council  then  held,)  stood, — 
Yeas  70,  Noes  5  ;  total  75  ;  which  is  a  much  larger  number 
than  there  ever  were,  of  males  only,  in  the  South  Church. 
All  this  exposes  the  groundlessness  of  tlie  assumption  that 
this  practice  was  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  "imposing" 
Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  upon  tliis  Church.  The  minority  of  the 
Church,  as  well  as  the  majority,  have  exercised  this  right 
from  that  lime  to  the  present.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Church, 
Feb.  18th,  18G3,  on  the  question  of  inviting  Rev.  Mr.  Car- 
roll to  continue  his  labors  among  us  as  Stated  Supply, 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  113 

females  as  well  as  males  voted,  without  objection  on  the 
part  of  the  Chairman,  E,  S.  Minor,  then  a  Deacon  of  the 
Church,  and  since  one  of  the  petitioners  for  the  Council. 
If  this  was  "  contrary  to  the  usages  and  principles  of  the 
New  England  Churches,"  why  did  he  not  interpose  his 
authority  as  Chairman,  to  prevent  its  exercise ;  and  why 
did  no  other  member  raise  a  question  of  order  as  to  the  pro- 
priety of  such  a  proceeding  1  When  for  the  first  time  this 
distinction  was  recorded  on  the  Church  books  in  these 
words — "  the  majority  of  the  Brethren  voting  in  the  nega- 
tive,"— it  was  in  violation  of  the  judgment  of  the  Church 
as  to  the  rights  of  members,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
soon  after  the  interpolation  was  discovered,  the  Church  by 
a  unanimous  vote,  adopted  the  following  resolution : 

""Whereas,  At  a  meeting  of  this  Church  held  Feb.  18,  1863,  a  vote 
was  passed  to  invite  the  Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll  to  continue  his  minis- 
terial labors  with  this  Church,  said  vote  being  recorded  fifty-one  yeas 
and  twenty-two  nays,  with  these  words  added,  '  a  majority  of  the 
brethren  voting  in  the  negative  ;'  and  whereas,  this  Church  has  never 
made  any  distinction  in  its  membership  in  regard  to  voting;  and 
whereas,  said  vote  was  taken  bj-  ballot,  with  no  official  announcement 
or  knowledge  as  to  the  vote  of  any  member ;  therefore,  voted,  that 
the  former  Clerk  of  this  Church,  John  NicoU,  M.D.,  is  guilty  of 
tampering  with  the  records,  and  is  hereby  censured  for  such  conduct 
by  this  Church." 

But  passing  this,  what  evidence  did  the  petitioners  give 
the  Council,  or  has  the  Council  given  the  public,  that  they, 
the  petitioners,  were  what  they  claimed  to  be,  viz  :  "  a  ma- 
jority of  the  hrethr  en''  even.  It  is  found  in  the  caption  and 
first  paragraph  of  the  "  Result,"  which  we  quote : 

"Result  of  the  Conncil  called  by  'the  majority  of  the  Brethren  of  the  South 
.  Congregational  Church,  Keiv  Haven.^ 
"This  Council  has  been  convened  by  certain  brethren  styling  them- 
selves "the  majority  of  the  brethren  of  the  South  Congregational 
Church  in  New  Haven,"  and  complaining  tliat  they  ••  have  been  de- 
prived of  the  rights  which   belong  to   brethren  of  a  Congregation.il 

10 


114  THE  EX-PARTE  COUNCIL. 

Church."  Whetlier  they  are  or  aro  not  entitled  to  the  rights  of  a  ma- 
joritj-,  is  a  question  upon  which  we  are  not  called  to  express  an  opinion, 
for  it  is  not  material  to  any  of  the  issues  involved  in  their  complaint. 
These  brethren,  twenty  or  more  in  number,  have  addressed  the  Church 
in  a  memorial  asking  for  a  Mutual  Council  to  consider  certain  matters 
by  wliich  they  are  aggrieved,  and  their  request  has  been  denied.  Their 
right,  therefore,  of  obtaining  advice  from  neighbor  Churches  through 
an  Ex-'parte  Council,  in  conformity  with  a  reasonable  and  long  estab- 
lished usage  of  the  New  England  Churchc.?,  cannot  be  disputed." 

The  evidence  furnished  to  substantiate  this  claim,  is 
thvee-fold  :  {a)  an  assertion  of  it :  "  Result  of  the  Council 
called  hi/  'the  Majority  of  the  Brethren:^  "  {b)  a  modifi- 
cation of  it :  "  This  Council  has  been  convened  by  certain 
brethren  'styling  themselves  a  majority  ;'  "  (c)  a  partial 
abandonment  of  it :  "  Whether  they  are,  or  are  not,  enti- 
titled  to  the  rights  of  a  majority,  is  a  question  upon  which 
we  are  not  called  to  express  an  opinion  ;  for  it  is  not  mate- 
rial to  any  of  the  issues  involved  in  their  complaint."  The 
Council  may  regard  the  question  of  majority  or  minority 
as  immaterial ;  but  for  important  reasons,  it  is  a  point  not 
only  upon  which  an  hitelligent  and  unprejudiced  opinion 
shouUl  have  been  formed  and  expressed,  but  formally  de- 
cided;  for,  with  this  claim  undecided,  how  was  it  possible 
that  the  Council  should  know  what  case  was  before  them  ? 
And  is  tliis  an  unimportant  point  in  the  estimate  of  a 
Church  Court,  to  know  who  are  the  parties  before  them  ? 
And  yet  this  can  only  be  settled  when  this  claim  is  settled. 
If  these  petitioners,  meml)ers  of  our  Church,  be  a  majority, 
then  is  the  Council  dealing  with  our  Church ;  and  in  this 
case,  because  the  Church  has  convened  them  and  asked  for 
advice.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  these  "brethren"  be  a  mi- 
nority, then  are  the  Council  dealing  only  with  a  few  indi- 
viduals asking  for  advice,  and  should  (lonfine  their  action 
to  them.  They  have  nothing  to  do  with  our  Church — they 
have  no  jurisdiction  over  us — unless  we,  as  a  Church,  asked 
for  the  Council,  or  consented  to  become  a  party  to  it.  We 
say  that  this  is  the  only  way  in  which  tht-y  could  have  any 
legitimate  right  to  discuss  and  decide  upon  our  affairs ;  for. 


THE    EX-PARTE   COUNCIL.  115 

we  are  an  Independent  Congregational  Church,  neither 
associated  nor  consociated,  and  as  an  independent  Church, 
wliicli  we  ai"e  and  always  have  been,  we  are  in  this  case  no 
more  amenable  to  this  Council,  nncalled  by  us,  than  a 
IJaptist,  Methodist,  or  Episcopal  Church  would  be.  And 
the  same  obtains  in  the  case  of  our  minister.  Rev.  Mr. 
Carroll.  He  is  not  a  member  of  the  Association  or  Con- 
sociation ;  but  an  Old  School  Presbyterian  clergyman, 
"responsible"  to  his  own  brethren,  and  none  other, — an 
ecclesiastical  body  which  we  regard  as  entirely  "  evangeli- 
cal." Did  both  Church  and  minister,  or  either  of  them, 
call  and  ask  advice  from  this  Council  %  Neither  did.  We 
neither  asked  advice,  nor  needed  it ;  for,  the  greater  part  of 
the  minority  having  absented  themselves  from  our  services 
for  some  time  past,  we  have  been  during  this  period  a  united 
and  prosperous  Church, — have  had  no  difficulties  to  harmo- 
nize, no  grievances  to  complain  of. 

The  vote  of  sixty-one  members  ratifying  the  action  of 
the  Standing  Committee  in  declining  even  to  become  par- 
ties to  this  Council,  was  unanimous. — This  being  so,  by 
what  authority  has  this  Council,  representing  twelve  out  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty-two  Consociated  Churches  in  this 
State,  arraigned,  tried,  condemned,  and  attempted  to  "  ex- 
communicate" us?  "Who  made  them  judges  and  rulers 
over  us,  an  independent  Church,  and  over  our  minister,  who 
belongs  to  another  denomination  ?  It  is  simply  imperti- 
nence and  usurpation. 

"  The  right  of  obtaining  advice  from  neighbor  Churches 
through  an  Ex-par  to  Council  in  conformity  with  a  reasonable 
and  long  established  usage  of  the  New  England  Churches, 
cannot  be  disputed."  We  do  not  dispute  it.  But  when 
called  upon  by  others  to  advise  them,  (which  advice  was 
conveyed  in  a  single  sentence,)  we  do  deny  that  it  was 
either  necessary  or  right  for  the  Council,  upon  a  whole 
Church,  a  Church  over  which  they  had  no  jurisdiction,  and 
u])on  Ex-parte  statements,  to  pronounce  anathemas,  and 
even  attempt  to  assassinate  the  character  of  its  minister. 
And  however  nmch  "in  conformity  with  a  reasonable  (!) 
and  long  established  usage  of  the  New  England  Churches," 
it   is   in    manifest   no«-conformity   with   simple   Christian 


116  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

courtesy,  and  "  contrary  to  the  Scriptures."  1  Peter,  iv  : 
15;  2  Thess.,  iii,  11. 

That  the  South  Church  was  not  before  the  Council,  will 
appear  from  the  fact  that  we  had  at  the  date  it  was  called, 
one  hundred  and  fifty-two  members,  (not  including  those 
who  had  taken  letters  of  dismission.)  Of  these  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-two  members  not  dismissed,  forty-seven  are 
males ;  of  these  forty-seven  males  not  dismissed,  only 
fifteen  signed  the  petition  for  the  Council, — the  other  five 
not  being  recognized  as  members  by  this  Church,  which  as 
an  independent  body,  has  alone  the  right  to  determme  who 
are  its  members  and  who  are  not.  Are  fifteen  a  majority 
of  forty-seven  1  Are  twenty,  "  styling  themselves  a  major- 
ity of  the  brethren,"  a  majority  of  fifty-tliree  ?  which  is  our 
number  of  males  if  we  include,  as  they  do,  the  five  peti- 
tioners dismissed,  and  one  dismissed  who  is  not  a  petitioner? 
No  !  And  yet  they  ought  to  have  known  that  they  were 
not  a  majority,  and  might  have  known  it  had  they  used 
the  proper  means,  and  thus  have  saved  themselves  this 
exposure. 

Tlius  the  petitioners,  members  of  this  Church,  were  not 
what  they  claimed  to  be,  a  majority  of  the  brethren,  much 
less  of  the  membership,  of  the  Church. 

'•  First  of  all,  tliis  Council  has  made  a  communication  to  the  Church 
through  its  clerk  and  standing  committee,  and  also  to  the  Rev.  J.  Hal- 
sted  Carroll  as  another  parly  iuterosted  in  the  matters  referred  to  us, 
inviting  them  to  appear  andofler  any  explanations  wliich  they  may  de- 
sire to  make  concerning  tlie  transactions  complained  of.  But  these  in- 
vitations have  been  explicitly  declmed.  "We  are  sorry  to  add,  we  have 
been  denied  all  access  to  the  records  of  the  Church,  and  that  llio  com. 
plainants  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  authentic  copies  of  the  records, 
which  they  desired  to  present  for  our  consideration." 

Two  facts  are  here  stated  :  «'  1.  llev.  Mr.  Carroll  '  declin- 
ed '  to  appear,  and  the  records  were  '  denied.'  ".  Reasons : — 
Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  declined  because  he  failed  to  see  any  juris- 
diction over  him  by  said  Conneil,  not  being  a  member  of  the 
Association,  nor  a  minister  of  their  denomination,  but_  a 
Presbyterian  clergyman.     The  churcli  declined  sending  its 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  117 

records  or  "  authenticated  copies  "  of  the  same,  because  it 
had  decided  by  a  unanimous  vote,  (61,)  as  stated  above,  not 
to  become  a  party  to  the  Council.  It  should  be  remarked, 
liowever,  that  those  of  the  petitioners  who  had  not  been  dis- 
missed, had  free  access  to  the  records;  one  of  whom  (G.  H. 
Butriclis,)  took  extracts  therefrom.  Having  declined  to  ap- 
pear before  the  Council,  how  could  we  be  expected  to  pre- 
sent our  records,  or  authenticated  copies  thereof,  and  thus 
take  away  the  ex-parte  character  of  the  Council  I 

"  naviiig  carefully  considered  the  documents  submitted  to  us  in  be- 
half of  the  complaiutints  by  their  Committee,  and  having  heard  such 
testimony  as  they  in  the  disadvantageous  circumstances  in  which  they 
are  placed  have  been  able  to  adduce,  we  find  the  following  matters  of 
fact: 

■'  1.  The  Church  in  question  was  instituted  as  a  Congregational 
Church,  with  the  advice  and  approbation  of  a  conucil  of  Congrega- 
tional Ciiurehes,  and  the  complainants  became  members  of  it,  in  the 
warranted  expectation  that  tliey  were  to  enjoy  all  the  rights  belonging 
to  the  brethren  of  a  Congregational  Church,  according  to  th?  princi- 
ples and  usages  of  the  Xew  England  Churches."' 

True,  it  was  organized  as  a  Congregational  Church  ;  but 
never  having  been  associated  or  consociated,  we  are  an  In- 
dependent Congregational  Cliurch, — and  as  such,  claim  the 
right  to  regulate  our  own  affairs. 

Several  of  the  petitioners,  one  of  them  a  Deacon,  (E.  S. 
Minor,)  organized  with  us,  and  assisted  in  making  our  rules, 
and  in  creating  and  sanctioning  our  customs.  Such  being 
the  case,  what  reason  have  they  now  to  complain  of  those 
rules  and  customs  ? 

Among  tliese  rules  and  customs,  is  the  right  of  all  mem- 
bers to  vote.  This  right  was  acquiesced  in  and  practically 
approved  by  the  minority,  in  common  with  the  majority,  at 
the  meeting  in  February  last,  already  referred  to — Deacon 
E.  S.  Minor,  one  of  the  petitioners,  in  the  chair. 

This  right  is  further  sustained  by  the  action  of  the 
Church  in  all  cases  of  the  admission  of  members,  and  has 
been,  from  the  organization  of  the  Church  to  this  day.  In 
every  such  case,  after  the  assent  of  the  member  or  members 
to  tile   covenant,  the   minister,  speaking   in  behalf  of  the 

10* 


lis  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

Church,  and  all  the  members  rising  in  token  of  approval, 
says: — "Then  cloth  this  Church  atfeclionately  receive  you 
to  its  membership  and  welcome  you  to  all  the  privileges, 
labors  and  blessings,  of  the  Household  of  Faith."  "  Thus 
you  are  admitted  to  this  Church,  and  have  a  right  to  all  its 
privileges."  "  Then  are  you."  Who  1  "  Male  members  V 
"Adult  male  members'?"  "Brethren?"  No!  You  who 
take  this  covenant.  Adults  and  youth,  parents  and  children, 
male  and  female,  all  recommended  by  the  Committee  and 
received  by  the  Church.  "You  are" — what  ?"  admitted 
to  this  Clnirch,  and  have  a  right  to  all  its  privileges."  One 
of  the  privileges  conferred  upon  all  who  take  our  covenant, 
is  voting;  and  as  an  Independent  Church,  we  claim  the 
right  of  deciding  not  only  who  are  our  members  and  who 
are  not,  but  also  what  are  the  privileges  of  our  own  Church 
conferred  %  the  Church  upon  its  members. 

"II.  The  Rev.  J.  Halsted  C.'irroll  commenced  his  labors  at  the  South 
Church  in  December,  1861,  being  invited  by  the  Societ.v's  Committee 
to  officfete  as  a  candidate.  He  was  soon  afterwards  employed  by  con- 
current votes  of  the  Church  and  Society  to  supply  the  pulpit  for  a  year. 
Before  the  terminatiou  of  the  year,  a  meeting  of  the  Church  was  held 
to  consider  the  question  of  a  more  permanent  settlement  of  Mr.  Car- 
roll in  the  work  of  the  ministry  there.  An  arrangement  was  made, 
purporting  to  be  between  the  Clnirch  and  Society  as  one  party,  and 
Mr.  Carroll  as  the  other  party,  by  which  he  was  to  remain  in  the  work 
of  the  ministry  among  them  indefinitely,  and  which  could  be  termina- 
ted only  when  either  party  should  give  four  months  notice  of  a  desire 
for  the  termination." 

Such  an  arrangement  not  only  "  [)urported  "  to  be  made, 
but  was  made.  Is  there  anything  peculiar  in  this  relation 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  to  the  South  Church  ?  It  is  the  same 
relation  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles  sustained  to  this  Church,  and  Rev. 
Gurdon  W.  Noyes,  durhig  the  early  i)art  of  his  ministry, 
except  the  "  four  months'  notice,"  wliicli  made  it  apparently 
a  more  i)ermanent  relation  than  that  of  the  present  incum- 
bent. AVhy,  then,  should  this  be  cited  as  a  grievance,  or  as 
something  wrong  on  the  part  of  people  or  minister  ? 

That  notliing  of  a  permanent  or  pastoral  relation  was 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  119 

secured  by  tliis  arrangement,  is  admitted  by  the  complain- 
ants themselves  ;  for  they  say,  "  it  could  be  terminated  at 
anytime  by  giving  four  months'  previous  notice." 

"  III.  Ill  that  meeting  a  majority  of  the  male  members  present  voted 
against  the  proposed  arrangement,  but  their  votes  were  overruled  by 
counting  the  votes  of  female  members." 

How  did  the  council  obtain  this  information  ?  If  from 
the  clerk,  (Dr.  Nicoll,)  how  did  he  obtain  it?  If  from  the 
other  petitioners,  or  any  of  them,  how  did  tliey  obtain  it  ? — 
the  vote  being  taken  (on  motion  of  the  clerk)  by  "  secret 
ballot:' 

"  IV.  The  aforesaid  arrangement  having  been  made,  Mr  Carroll 
assumed  the  title  and  authority  of  "  Pastor  of  the  South  Church  "  sub- 
scribing official  papers  in  that  character,  being  habitually  spoken  of 
among  the  members  of  tlie  Church,  and  in  Church  meetings,  by  that 
official  title,  and  being  announced  frequently  to  the  public  as  Pastor  of 
the  Church." 

If  the  charge  is,  that  Mr.  Carroll  assumed  the  title  and 
authority  of  installed  Pastor,  we  deny  it. — We  have  called 
him  Pastor  among  ourselves  and  in  Church  meetings,  and 
announced  him  so  to  the  public  :  but  so  have  several  of  the 
petitioners.  On  one  occasion,  three  of  them,  with  others, 
addressed  him  as  "  Pastor,"  in  a  formal  letter,  expressing  the 
"  great  pleasure  and  profit  with  which  they  had  listened  to 
his  Tiumksgiving  sermon  on  the  claims  of  our  country  on 
Christians,"  and  asking  a  copy  for  publication.  The  late 
Superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School,  (Geo.  S.  Minor,)  one 
of  the  petitioners,  often  announced  him  as  Pastor.  At  quar- 
terly and  anniversary  meetings  of  the  Sunday  School  in  the 
Church,  how  familiar  these  words  from  his  lips — "  We  will 
now  listen  to  our  Pastor."  When  thus  "called"  and  "an- 
nounced" by  us  and  them,  were  any  of  us  deceived,  or  did  we 
or  they  intend  to  deceive  others  ?  No  more  did  he,  in  "  sub- 
scribing" lumself  "  Pastor,"  deceive  or  attempt  to  deceive 
others.  The  oflfense  charged  here,  is  about  as  formidable  as 
tliat  of  addressing  a  man  l)y  the  title  of  Esq.,  who  is  not  an 
Esq.,  who  himself  knows  he  is  not  an  Esq.,  and  who  is 


120  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

known  not  to  be  an  Esq.  by  the  party  who  addresses  him 
thus.  If  the  fact  of  our  addressing  Mr.  Carroll  as  Pastor, 
be  proof  of  Ins  assuming  the  title  and  authority  of  Pastor, 
why  were  not  his  predecessors,  while  they  sustained  the 
same  relation  to  this  Church  that  he  does,  guilty  of  the 
same  offence  when  addressed  and  eveu  spoken  of  in  print 
by  the  same  title.  (See  Catalogue  of  South  Church,  E.  S. 
Minor  chairman  of  publishing  committee.) 

'•V.  Certain  inembei-s  of  the  Church,  fourteen  in  number,  being  dis" 
satisfied  with  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Carroll,  and  desiring  that  notice 
might  be  duly  given  to  him  for  the  termination  of  the  arrangement, 
presented  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Church  their  written  request  for  a  Church 
meeting,  which  request  was  refused  by  the  Clerk  and  Standing  Com- 
mittee. 

"VI.  Afterwards  the  same  brethren  and  others,  twenty  in  all,  ad- 
dressed their  memorial  to  the  Church,  stating  distinctly  the  grounds  of 
their  dissatisfaction  with  these  proceedings  and  with  the  ministry  of 
Mr.  Carroll,  and  asking  for  a  Council  of  the  Churches,  to  be  mutually 
agreed  upon,  who  should  advise  witli  the  Church  and  the  complain- 
ants. The  Clerk,  to  whose  hands  the  memorial  was  committed,  refused, 
by  the  advice  of  the  Standing  Comniittee,  to  lay  it  before  the  Church." 

They  did  refuse.  And  why?  (1.)  Because  this  very 
question  about  the  continuance  of  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll's  labors 
among  us,  had  been  discussed  at  great  jength  at  a  Church 
meeting  specially  called  for  that  purpo'se,  not  long  before, 
and  had  been  decided  in  favor  of  such  continuance  by  a  vote 
of  fifty-one  to  twenty  two.  (2-)  Because  the  regular  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  Church  must  be  held  in  the  ensuing 
month  of  November,  when  this  whole  subject  could  be  re- 
discussed  and  re-decided. 

VVe  admit  that  the  literality  of  the  rule*  requires  the  Clerk 


*  Note  by  the  Author  of  South  Church  History. — After  all, 
there  was  no  such  rule.  It  is  not  among  the  printed  "  Standing  Rules" 
of  the  Church,  where  the  duties  of  the  Clerk  are  defined,  nor  in  the 
manuscript  records,  nor  any  where  else.  The  most  that  can  truly  be 
said  is,  that  there  was  such  a  usage ;  but  eveu  this  was  not  uniform 


THE    EX-PARTE    cpUNCIL.  121 

to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Church  whenever  retinested  by  a 
certain  number  of  members  But  can  it  be  supposed  that 
in  adopting-  such  a  rule,  the  Church  intended  to  make  itself 
liable  to  be  called  together  every  month,  week,  or  day,  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  requisite  number  of  petitioners,  and  thus 
be  kept  in  a  state  of  constant  agitation  ?  If  not,  a  reason- 
able discretionary  power  must  be  vested  somewhere  to  pre- 
vent this  abuse  ]  and  where  better  than  in  the  Standing 
Committee.  This  discretionary  power  our  Standing  Com- 
mittee exercised  in  the  case  before  us,  and  their  action  was 
unanimously  approved  by  the  Church.  And  yet,  for  this 
irregularity  i)rincipally — for  this  refusal  under  these  circum- 
stances— we  are  judged  by  Council  as  no  longer  "to  be  re- 
cognized as  a  Congregational  Church ;"  and  they  feel  con- 
strained "  to  advise  their  Churches  to  withhold  from  us  acts 
of  recognition  and  fpUowship,  customary  among  New  Eng- 
land Churches." 

"VII.  Between  the  time  when  the  request  was  made  for  a  Church 
meeting  and  the  time  of  preparing  the  memorial,  some  of  the  complain- 
ants asked  and  received  letters  of  commendation,  in  the  ordinary  form, 
by  which  their  membership  in  the  Church  would  be  terminated  when- 
ever they  might  become  members  of  other  Churches.  But  in  the  me- 
morial those  brethren  gave  notice  to  the  Church,  that  upon  mature  de- 
liberation they  had  relinquished  their  intention  of  connecting  them- 
selves with  other  Churches ;  and  they  remained,  in  the  language  of  the 
testimonials  which  had  been  given  them,  'members  of  the  South 
Congrcgatioual  Church.' " 

Answer. — "Members  of  the  SouthCongregatioualChurch." 
Why  did  the  Council  omit  the  next  clause  1  viz  :  "  and  are 
hereby  dismissed  at  their  own  request."  The  fact  that 
those  brethren  gave  notice  to  the  Church  that  "  they  had 
relinquished  their  intention  of  connecting  themselves  with 

nor  well  defined.  Very  often  Church  meetings  were  called  by  a  simple 
announcement  from  the  pulpit,  without  the  intervention  of  the  Clerk 
at  all.  There  is  now  a  recorded  Rule,  adopted  at  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  Church,  Nov.  24,  1S63,  as  follows: 

"  Voted,  That  the  power  to  call  a  Churffh  meeting  for  business,  shall 
rest  in  the  Church  Committee,  together  with  the  Clerk." 


122  THE    EX-FARTE    COUNCIL. 

Other  Cliurclies,"  did  not  make  them  remain,  "in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  testimonials,"  •'  members  of  the  South  Con- 
gregational Church,"*  but  members  "  dismissed."  Besides, 
a  simple  "notification"  tons,  by  those  dismissed,  "that 
they  did  not  intend  to  present  their  certificates  to  other 
Churches,"  did  not  release  them  from  the  necessity  of  pre- 
senting them  to  our  Church  for  re-admission ;  for  our  cus- 
tom and  usage  is,  and  ever  has  been,  when  members  hold 
certificates  from  us  which  have  not  been  presented  else- 
where, if  such  parties  desire  to  return  to  us,  their  certifi- 
cates must  be  acted  upon  by  the  Church.  This  was,  and 
is,  our  custom.  Have  any  of  the  petitioners  holding  cer- 
tificates of  dismission  from  us,  conformed  to  our  custom  in 
this  matter  ?  No.  They  have  never  returned  their  certifi- 
cates to  the  Church,  but  still  retain  them,  claiming  full 
membership,  while  carrying  about  with  them  the  testimo- 
nials that  they  are  dismissed  from  us.  Why,  then,  should 
we  make  them  exceptions  to  our  rule  ?  Why  should  we 
recognize  them  as  in  full  membership  upon  a  "notification," 
when  others  have  never  been  so  recognized  in  like  circum- 
stances ?     Are  we,  as  a  Church,  bound  by  this,  their  new 

*  Note  by  the  Author  of  South  Church  History.— The  argu- 
ment drawn  from  the  language  of  the  certificates  of  dismission,  is  just 
as  good  and  no  better  than  would  lie  that  of  an  officer  who  had  been 
dismissed  from  the  service  of  the  United  States  by  a  Court  Martial, 
but  who  should  claim  that  by  the  very  langunge  of  that  order,  he  still 
held  his  posilioa  in  the  regiment.  AVe  will  suppose  the  order  to  read 
as  follows: 

'•Decision  of  Court  Martial,  Xo  52.— Ordered,  tliat  A.  B.,  First  Lien- 
tenant  of  Company  11,  ninety-eleventh  regiment  U.S.  Artillery,  be,  and 
he  is  hereby,  di.smissed  from  tlie  service  in  disgrace." 

If  such  an  officer  should  appeal  to  the  language  of  tlie  order,  in  proof 
that  he  had  not  been  dismissed,  wiio  could  gain-say  his  plea  ?  Does 
not  the  order  itself  speak  of  liim  expressly  as  ''  First  Lieutenant  of 
Company  II,  ninety-eleventh  regiment  of  U.  S.  Artillery  ?"  How  then 
can  he  be  otherwise.  If  the  Court  Martial  wliich  dismissed  him,  is 
not  good  authority  in  his  favar,  who  or  what  is  ?  And  yet  this  flimsy 
argument  is  endorsed  by  the  Council  I 


THE    EX-rARTE    COUNCIL.  123 

claim  1  Further,  this  custom  has  recently  been  recognized 
and  ratified  by  the  formal  action  of  our  Church  at  its  last 
annual  meeting.  It  was  decided  in  the  case  of  George  S. 
Minor,*  claiming  this  right  for  the  first  time  in  our  history, 

*  Note  Br  the  Author  of  South  Church  History. — That  he 
intendod  to  ask  for  an  absohite  dismission,  is  evident  from  tlie  lan- 
guage of  his  apiilication,  as  follows : 

"New  Haven,  Jnly  19,  1863. 
'■  To  the  Clerk  of  the  Soutli  Congregational  Church. — 

^•Dear  Sir:  Feeling  it  a  duty  to  dissolve  my  connection  with  this 
Church,  I  respectfully  ask  througli  you,  of  tlien;,  a  letter  of  dismission, 
with  a  certificate  of  Christian  character,  and  recommendation  to  any 
Church  of  Christ  to  which  by  God  I  may  be  directed  to  hold  fellowship 
and  communion. 

Yerv  respectfully, 

GEORGE  S.  MINOR." 

"We  have  before  us  the  requests  of  several  other  persons  who  applied 
for  general  letters  of  dismission  about  the  same  time  with  the  above. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  Deacon  Minor's  application. 

"New  H.wex,  July  22,  1863. 
"  To  tlie  South  Congregational  Church. — 

"  Dear  Brethren : — Feeling  that  I  cannot  with  satisfaction  to  myself 
and  advantage  to  the  Chiircii,  retain  connection  witli  it  while  under  its 
present  circimistances,  1  respectfully  ask  for  a  letter  of  dismission  and 
recommendation  to  whatever  Cliurch  I  may  wish  to  connect  myself. 

Respectfully  yours, 

E.  S.  MINOR." 

After  reading  these  requests,  and  others  life  them,  can  there  be  a 
doubt  what  was  the  intention  and  wish  of  the  applicants?  They  felt 
it  a  "duty"  to  separate  themselves  from  the  South  Church  and  the 
South  Church  granted  their  request.  Neither  party,  it  is  safe  to  say, 
had  at  thai  time  the  slightest  idea  of  any  further  ecclesiastical  coimec- 
tion  with  eacli  other.  If  Paul  and  Barnabas,  after  "shaking  off  the 
dust  of  their  feet  against"  the  sinners  of  Antioch,  had  subsequently 
returned  and  claimed  it  as  thoir  property,  and  demanded  to  have  it  put 
back  upon  their  feet,  the  Antiochans  would  have  been  liardly  more 
surprised  than  were  the  South  Church  people  at  the  claim  of  their  dis- 
missed members  to  to  be  still  members  of  that  Cliurch  in  full,  entitled 
to  speak  and  vote  in  their  meetings,  the  same  as  if  they  had  not  been 
dismissed.     And  yet  the  Council  sustains  this  claim. 


124  THE   EX-PARTE   COUNCIL. 

by  a  vote  of  sixty-one  to  one,  (see  Church  records,)  that 
those  members  who  had  taken  letters  of  dismission,  though 
not  presented  to  other  Churches,  while  entitled  to  "  occa- 
sional communion,"  are  not  entitled  to  vote;  and  as  an 
independent  Church  we  have  the  right  not  only  to  make  our 
own  rules  for  our  government,  but  the  right  of  interpreting 
them  also.  This  rule  and  interpretation  is  not  unusual.  It 
is  endorsed  by  Dr.  Dwight,  President  of  Yale  College,  (see 
4  vol.  Theo.  p.  320,)  where  the  fact  is  stated  that  "  Persons 
are  not  unfrequently  dismissed  from  particular  Churches  in 
good  standing  and  with  full  recommendation  of  their  Christ- 
ian character.  Tliese  persons  are  certainly  not  members 
of  any  particular  Church  or  Churches,  until  they  are  sever- 
ally united  to  other  Churches  in  form.  It  is  plain  that  they 
can  act  no  where  as  members  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
except  in  what  is  called  occasional  communion."  Again, 
this  rule  of  ours  is  not.  "  contrary  to  the  principles  and  usa- 
ges of  the  New  England  Churches,"  if  the  Center  Church, 
of  which  Rev.  Dr.  Bacon  is  pastor,  conforms  to  those 
"principles  and  usages."  Among  the  standing  rules  of 
that  Church  we  find  the  following : 

"Every  membar  of  this  Cliiirch  shall  be  considered  as  under  tlie 
watch,  care  and  discipline  of  this  Church,  until  he  shall  have  been  reg- 
nh^rl}'  dismissed  from  his  connection  with  it  by  a  vote  of  this  Church." 

This  clearly  implies  that  wheyi  regularly  dismissed  by  a 
vote  of  the  church,  he  is  no  longer  under  its  watch,  care 
and  discipline.  Would  a  person  having  been  thus  dis- 
xnissed — not  even  under  its  "  watch,  care  and  discipline," — 
be  still  considered  a  member  of  that  Cliurch,  and  entitled 
to  vote 'on  questions  l)efore  it  1  And  this  is  the  case  of  the 
complainants  before  the  Council  against  the  South  Church. 
They  have  been  "regularly  dismissed  by  a  vote  of  the 
Church,"  and  have  received  letters  certifying  that  fxict; 
therefore,  according  to  the  decision  of  our  Church,  they  are 
no  longer  members  of  it  in  such  a  sense  as  to  be  entitled  to 
vote.  Wherein,  then,  does  our  course  diiJer  from  what 
necessarily  would  be  the  course  of  the  Center  Church 
under  similar  circumstances  ?     And  yet  that  Church  is  a 


THE    EX-PARTE   COUNCIL.  125 

constituent  part  of  a  Council  which  condemns  us  for  the 
same  action  its  own  rule  requires. 

"VIII.  The  reply  which  tho  Clerk,  by  the  direction  of  the  Standing 
Committee,  returned  to  the  signers  of  the  memorial,  was  addressed 
'To  Amos  Smith,  G.  H.  Butricks,  and  as  many  other  signers  of  the 
above  named  request  as  are  still  recognized  members  of  the  Church;' 
the  said  Clerk  and  Committee  thereby  assuming  to  exclude  from  mem- 
bership those  signers  who  held  at  that  moment  the  written  testimo- 
nials of  the  Church  to  their  good  and  regular  standing." 

And  why  should  they  not  exclude  them?  They  had 
heen  regularly  dismissed  by  a  vote  of  the  Church,  and  nei- 
ther the  Clerk  nor  Standing  Committee,  nor  both  together, 
had  power  to  reinstate  them.  The  Church  only  could  do 
this.  The  case  of  Amos  Smith,  one  of  the  petitioners, 
illustrates  this  point.  Some  years  since,  having  taken  a 
letter  of  dismission,  he  did  not  present  it  to  any  other 
Church,  but  on  his  return  to  this  city,  he  expressed  a  desire 
to  renew  his  former  connection  with  this  Church,  and  was 
received  accordingly  by  a  vote  of  the  Church,  to  which  he 
returned  his  certificate  of  dismission. 

"  IX.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Church,  held  in  the  evening  of 
Nov.  24,  '63,  Mr.  Carroll,  acting  as  moderator,  denied  to  the  members 
above  mentioned  the  right  of  voting,  or  of  speaking  in  defense  of  their 
right  to  vote ;  and  that  denial  was  approved  by  the  meeting.  The 
same  meeting  ratified  all  the  doings  of  the  Committee,  including  their 
suppression  of  the  memorial." 

Only  one  of  the  persons  alluded  to,  (Geo.  S.  Minor,)  was 
present  at  the  annual  meeting,  and  as  lie  was  not  recognized 
by  the  custom  and  rule  of  the  Church  as  a  member,  of  course 
he  could  not  be  allowed  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings. 

"  X.  The  reasons  for  the  dissatisfaction  with  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Car- 
roll, presented  to  us  by  the  complainants,  and  sustained  by  such  evi- 
dence as  tho  nature  of  this  investigation  has  made  practicable,  are  the 
following: 

"  1.  They  had,  at  the  time  of  his  settlement,  no  proper  evidence  that 
ho  was  an  ordained  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  regular  communion  with 

11 


126  THE    EX-PAllTE    COUNCIL. 

the  Congreji-atioiial  Churches  and  ministers  of  Connecticut,  or  with  any 
evangehcal  denomination." 

^\Tiy  did  the  complainants  have  no  proper  evidence  that 
Mr.  Carroll  was  a  minister  in  regular  communion  with  any 
evangelical  denomination  1  Simply  because  the  complain- 
ants, for  reasons  l)est  known  to  themselves,  never  asked 
him,  or  they  would  have  had  proper  evidence  that  he  was 
an  ordained  Minister  of  the  Gospel  in  regular  communion 
with  the  Old  School  Presbyterian  denomination, — a  gradu- 
ate of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  in  the  class  of 
1855,  ordained  and  installed  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Jamesburg,  N.  J.,  May  30th,  in  the  same  year,  by  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick.  Rev.  Dr.  Hall,  of  Tren- 
ton, N.  J.,  preached  the  sermon  ;  Eev.  Dr.  Hodge,  of  Prince- 
ton, N.  J.,  proposed  the  constitutional  questions ;  Rev. 
Prof.  Green,  of  Princeton,  delivered  the  charge  to  the  Pas- 
tor ;  and  Rev.  Dr.  McDonald,  of  Princeton,  delivered  the 
charge  to  the  people.  [See  records  and  roll  of  the  New 
Brunswick  Presbytery.] 

"  2.  Uniler  his  ministry,  tliere  lias  been  in  tlie  pubUe  worsliip  of  that 
Ciuirch,  and  in  the  lessons  from  the  pulpit,  no  utterance  of  symyathy 
with  our  country  in  its  struggle  for  unity  and  life;  no  expression  of 
loyal  desire  for  the  success  of  the  Government,  or  the  defeat  of  the 
rebellion;  no  word  implying  that  the  attempt  of  the  rebels  to  subvert 
by  force  the  Government  ordained  by  God  in  this  land,  is  criminal;  no 
recognition  of  the  riglitcousness  of  the  cause  in  which  sons  and  broth- 
ers of  the  complainants,  some  of  tlaem  members  of  the  same  Church, 
are  offering  their  hves." 

Is  it  not  extraordinary  that  under  such  influences  the 
friends  of  Mr.  Carroll  in  the  South  Church  and  congregation 
have  sent  quite  as  many  men  to  engage  in  tiie  service  of 
their  country  as  have  the  petitioners  and  their  friends  in  the 
same  Church  and  congregation  ?  At  least  thirteen  of  the 
former  class  are  or  liavo  been  in  that  service  by  voluntary 
enlistment— most  of  tliem  for  a  period  of  three  years.  Is  it 
not  strange  that  the  Council  should  make  such  statements 
as  those  above  quoted,  in  the  face  of  such  facts  as  we  have 
presented,  and  of  such  "  utterances  "  as  are  expressed  in  the 


THE    EX-PAKTE    COUNCIL.  127 

subjoined  extract  of  a  letter  dated  Nov.  3d,  1862,  from  Mr. 
Carroll  to  Mr.  E.  S.  ]\[inor,  one  of  llie  petitioners  to  the 
Council,  who,  at  the  above-mentioned  date,  was  a  deacon  in 
this  Church.  This  letter  has  been  in  his  possession  more 
than  a  year : 

"  I  i)ray  for  our  rulers.  This  I  do  every  Sabbath  ;  that 
God  would  endue  them  with  his  Holy  Spirit ;  give  them 
wisdom  from  aljove,  which  is  alone  protitable  to  direct ; 
crown  with  His  blessing  and  success  their  every  effort  which 
shall  secure  the  real  good  of  the  land,  thereby  effecting  His 
own  purposes  in  it  and  concerning  it,  and  redeeming  them 
thus  from  narrow,  groveling  views.  I  pray  for  the  soldiers; 
this  I  do  every  Sabbath ;  that  God  would  encamp  round 
about  them  ;  that  he  would  preserve  them  in  body  and  soul, 
in  health  and  morals,  in  all  their  interests  for  time  and  eter- 
nity ;  and  for  tlieir  families  and  friends  as  well ;  and  for 
Peace,  in  Clod's  own  way,  (and  His  ways  are  not  our  ways ;) 
for  Peace  in  God's  way  of  thinking — purposely,  therefore, 
'  shutting  out  of  view  the  great  principles  7ce  think  involved,' 
(inasmuch  as  God's  thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts ;) 
for  Peace,  which  if  God  sends,  must  be  righteous  and  '  free 
from  crime.'  I  pray  for  the  country;  I  do  this  every  Sab- 
bath ;  that  God  would  pity  her  and  interpose  in  her  behalf, 
so  that  she  may  no  longer  be  made  one  vast  Golgotha,  but 
the  land  of  Immanuel.  It  is  not  enough  that  I  thus  recog- 
nize Government  as  an  institution  of  God,  and  the  '  powers 
that  be,  as  ordained  of  God,' — no !  but  because  in  holiest 
approach  unto  the  Most  High,  I  do  not  advocate  a  certain 
policy ;— because  before  the  throne  of  God  I  do  not  intone 
the  Shibboleth  of  a  party." 

''3.  In  the  pulpit  and  in  private  conversation  he  has  characterized  the 
action  of  the  Government  as  tj^rannical  and  unjust,  and  has  implied 
that  the  attempt  of  the  Government  to  maintain  itself  by  force  against 
the  rebellion,  is  criminal ;  and  when  members  of  the  church  have  cour- 
teously inquired  of  him  concerning  his  views,  that  they  might  know 
whether  he  had  been  misunderstood  on  these  points,  he  has  refused  to 
giv€*any  satisfactory  answer." 

Mr.  Carroll  has  characterized  a  certain  action  of  the 
Government  as  "tyrannical  and  unjust."     This  Mr.  Carroll 


128  THE   EX-PARTE   COUNCIL. 

did.  How,  and  when?  It  was  in  connection  with  the  case 
of  John  Nicoll,  M.D.,  one  of  the  petitioners,  then  an  officer 
and  member  of  our  Church,  and  about  the  time  when  he 
was  summarily  taken  to  Fort  Lafayette.  His  home  was 
broken — his  practice  interrupted — his  reputation  as  an  hon- 
est man  suifering — his  character  as  a  Christian  clouded — 
and  believing  him  innocent,  with  no  opportunity  to  prove  it, 
and  thus  save  himself  and  family — it  was  under  these  cir- 
cumstances and  in  his  case,  that  Mr.  Carroll  said  the  action 
of  the  Government  was  "tyrannical  and  unjust,"  and  "in 
the  pulpit "  prayed  for  his  speedy  deliverance  and  return. 
And  when  he  did  return,  7ic  prayed  what  Mr.  Carroll  had 
said,  a?id  more;  that  they  might  be  put  out  of  power. 
Pi-oof — an  entire  prayer  meeting.  Now,  which  was  most 
"  disloyal ;  "  to  say  what  Mr.  Carroll  said,  or  to  pray  what 
Dr.  Nicoll  prayed  %  And  yet  the  one  who  prayed  thus  in 
our  meeting,  is  one  of  the  aggrieved  "  brethren  "  before  the 
Council,  whose  patriotism  and  piety  are  shocked  by  Mr. 
Carroll's  prayers. 

"4.  He  has  borne  no  testimouy  against  the  wicked  doctrine  of  these 
times,  that  it  is  right  for  white  men  to  make  slaves  of  black  men;  but 
on  the  contrary,  he  has  used  his  influence  to  suppress  in  the  meetings 
of  the  Church  all  allusions  to  the  injustice  of  slavery." 

True,  Mr.  Carroll  does  not  preach  or  pray  abolitionism, 
or  any  other  "  ism." 

If  he  has  used  his  influence  to  suppress  "in  the  meetings 
of  the  Church  all  allusions  to  the  injustice  of  slavery,"  he 
has  not  been  very  successful,  at  least  in  the  case  of  several 
of  the  petitioners. 

"5.  He  has  by  his  private  and  public  influence  brought  certain  young 
persons  of  the  congregation  into  open  sympathy  with  the  existing 
rebellion." 

Who  these  "  certain  young  persons  of  the  congregation  " 
are,  as  a  Church  we  do  not  know ;  and  if  there  be  any,  Mr. 
C.  could  not  have  made  them  such.  Even  the  petitioners 
virtually  confess  this;  for  they  assert  that  "  when  members 
of  the  Church  have  courteously  inquired  of  him  concerning 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  129 

his  views,  tliat  they  miglit  know  whether  he  had  been  mis- 
understootl  on  these  points,  he  has  refused  to  give  any  sat- 
isfactory answer."  The  question  may  fairly  he  raised, 
whether,  instead  of  being  brought  to  tliat  position  through 
the  influence  of  Mr.  Carroll,  it  has  not  been  caused  by  the 
indiscreet  zeal  of  parents  and  friends. 

JUDGMENT    OF    THE    COUNCIL. 

"  These  being  the  facts  (!)  as  we  find  them,"  say  the 
Council,  "our  judgment  is,"  [here  follow  six  conclusions, 
based  upon  the  alleged  facts,]  To  answer  the  conclusions 
in  detail,  would  be  to  answer  the  "  facts  "  over  again.  This 
we  need  not  do.  We  will,  however,  say  a  few  words  on 
two  of  the  conclusions,  in  addition  to  what  has  been  said 
above  on  the  same  topics. 

"Second.  Mr.  Carroll  is  not,  in  the  proper  use  of  language,  pastor  of 
the  South  Congregational  Church  in  New  Haven,  nor  is  he  '  Acting 
Pastor,'  as  that  term  is  defined  by  the  General  Association  of  Con- 
necticut. Any  assumption  of  the  title  of  pastor  on  his  part  is  unwar- 
ranted, and  the  arrangements  and  proceedings  by  which  he  has  been 
invested  with  the  powers  of  a  pastor  in  that  Church,  without  the  inter- 
vention of  a  council  of  neighboring  churches  to  inquire  into  his  qualifi- 
cations for  that  office,  are  a  contempt  put  upon  the  principle  of  com- 
munion of  churches,  and  a  violation  of  the  rights  of  the  complainants." 

The  last  Annual  Report  of  the  General  Association  of 
Connecticut,  m  its  tabular  statements,  p.  83,  has  the  fol- 
lowing entry  opposite  South  Church  : 

"J.  Halsted  Carroll,  (A.  p.)"  Acting  Pastor. 

If,  however,  the  Council  rest  their  assertion  upon  a  report 
submitted  by  Dr.  Bacon  "^for  examination"  and  contained 
in  said  Annual  Report,  Mr.  Carroll  is  neither  "  Acting  Pas- 
tor," "Pastor,"  nor  "  Stated  Preacher"  of  this  Church,  nor 
indeed  sustains  any  relation  to  it,  but  ''may  reasonahly  he' 
regarded  with  suspicion."  Suspicion  ?  Why  ?  Simply 
because  ^[r.  Carroll  "insists  upon  retaining  his  Church 
relation  and  clerical  connection  "  "  with  his  own  ecclesias- 
tical body." 

11* 


130  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

"Third.  The  voting  of  women  in  the  Church,  by  which,  in  the  settle- 
ment of  Mr.  Carroll,  the  majority  of  the  brethren  was  overruled,  is 
contrary  to  the  Scriptures  (I.  Cor.  xix.  34;  I.  Tim.  xi.  12;)  and  contrary 
to  the  usages  and  principles  of  the  New  England  Churches,  and  invali- 
dates the  act  of  a  majority,  which  was  made  such  b)-  these  votes." 

The  assertion  here  is,  that  it  is  wrong  for  women  to  vote : 
(1)  Because  "contrary  to  the  Scriptures."  There  are  no 
such  "  Scriptures  "  as  those  above-quoted,  nor  any  others 
denying  the  right  of  women  to  vote  in  Churches.  (2) 
"  Because  contrary  to  the  usages  and  principles  of  the  New 
England  Churches."  But  not  to  those  of  our  indepejident 
Church.  (3)  That  it  "  invalidates  the  act  of  a  majority." 
It  might  so  in  a  consociated  (Church,  but  not  in  ours,  which 
being  an  independent  Church,  has  a  right  to  establish  its 
own  rules  as  well  in  regard  to  voting  as  to  other  things. 

ADVICE   OF    THE    COU.NCIL. 

"  First.  In  consideration  of  the  facts  wliich  have  appeared  before  this 
Council,  and  which  we  have  already  recited,  we  advise  the  complain- 
ants that  the  South  Congregational  Church,  so  called,  ought  not  to  bo 
recognized  any  longer  as  a  Congregational  Church,  and  as  a  Council 
we  advise  the  Churches  which  we  represent,  and  all  other  Churches  of 
our  communion,  to  withhold  from  that  Cliurch  those  acts  of  mutual 
recognition  and  fellowship  which  are  customary  among  Congregational 
Churches,  and  which  are  the  form  of  their  unity  as  an  ecclesiastical 
commonwealth." 

Thus  far  in  our  history,  acts  of  "  recognition  and  fellow- 
ship "  toward  us  on  the  ])artofthe  Churches  represented  iu 
the  Council,  have  been  few  and  far  between.  Whether  the 
action  of  Council  will  make  them  fewer  hereafter,  remains 
to  be  seen.  At  present  we  are  unable  to  appreciate  our 
loss. 

"  Secondly.  "Wo  advise  the  complainants,  and  as  many  other  members 
of  that  Church  as  may  associate  with  them,  to  wltlidraw  from  their 
present  relations  to  it.  And  we  authorize  our  Moderator  and  Scribe 
to  give  to  them,  collectively  or  individually,  in  our  behalf,  letters  certi- 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  131 

fying  their  regular  standing  as  professed  followers  of  Christ  in  full 
communiou  with  the  Congregational  Churches  of  Connecticut,  and 
commending  them  to  any  Church  with  which  they  may  choose  to  con- 
nect themselves,  or  to  any  ecclesiastical  Council  which  may  be  con- 
vened for  the  purpose  of  recognizing  the  formation  of  a  new  Church. 
The  question  whether  they  shall  proceed  to  constitute  a  new  Church 
in  the  south  part  of  the  city  of  New  Haven,  is  a  question  to  be  deter- 
mined partly  by  local  considerations,  with  which  they,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  other  Churches  here,  are  better  acquainted  than  this  Coun- 
cil can  be.  Yet  we  cannot  refrain  from  saying,  that  for  the  sake  of 
patriotism  and  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion,  there  ought  to  be  among 
the  growing  population  of  that  quarter  a  truly  Congregational  Charch, 
from  which  the  sympathies  of  patriotic  Christian  souls  may  freely  go 
up  to  God  on  the  wings  of  prayer  and  praise,  and  in  which  the  whole 
counsel  of  God,  "revealed  from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and 
uurighteousuess  of  men  who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness,"  shall 
be  preached  plainly  and  unswervingly. 

"  Signed  in  behalf  and  by  direction  of  the  Council. 

"REV.  JOSEPH  ELDRIDGE.  Moderator. 

"Ret.  TV.  T.  ErsTis,  Scribe." 

In  this  second  and  last  paragraph  of  advice,  the  Council 
recommend  (1)  that  the  complainants  and  such  as  sympa- 
thize with  them,  "  withdraw  from  their  present  relations  "  to 
us.  In  this  recommendation  we  cordially  concur.  (2)  A 
modest  intimation  that  they  proceed  to  constitute  a  new 
Church  in  the  south  (this)  part  of  the  city.  Reasons, — con- 
siderations of  "patriotism"  and  of  "pure  and  undefiled 
religion."  If  "  pure  and  undefiled  religion  before  God  and 
the  Father"  is  this,  "to  visit  the  widow  and  fatherless  in 
their  affliction,  and  to  keep  ourselves  unspotted  from  the 
world,"  this  we  have  humbly  tried  to  do,  not  only  positively 
but  negatively ;  our  Church,  by  refusing  to  convert  itself 
into  a  political  machine,  and  our  minister,  by  refusing  to 
preach  or  pray  politics. 

In  what  respect  are  the  patriotism  and  piety  of  the  pro- 
posed new  Church  to  differ  from  ours,  as  above  described] 
But  without  pressing  this  question,  we  are  inclined  to  hope 
that  the  recommendation  of  the  Council  to  build  a  new 
Church  will  also  be  complied  with,  and  that  the  old  and 
wealthy  Churches  here  will  give  it  a  liberal  support. 


132  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

It  is  likewise  insinuated  against  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll,  that  he 
has  been  unfaitliful  as  a  minister,  ''failing  to  declare  the 
whole  coxinscl  of  God."  What  is  the  evidence  the  Council 
furnish  the  public  upon  which  they  made,  and  made  public, 
this  fearful  charge  against  Mr.  Carroll,  as  recreant  to  his 
official  duties  and  faithless  as  a  minister  of  God  ?  None 
whatever.  And  they  not  only  pronounce  sentence  upon  him 
on  the  strength  of  ex-jmrte  statements,  but  upon  him,  though 
beyond  their  jurisdiction,  and  amenable  to  another  denomi- 
nation. But  the  best  refutation  of  this  slander  is  the  simple 
record  of  his  ministry.  What  is  the  record  of  the  year  just 
closed,  from  January,  1S63,  to  January,  1864?  Our  con- 
gregations on  the  Sabbath,  and  at  weekly  meetings,  have 
never  before  been  uniformly  so  large,  in  our  history  of 
eleven  years,  except  during  a  short  period  under  the  minis- 
try of  Uev.  Dr.  Stiles;  while  the  additions  to  our  Church 
membership  have  been  43 — a  larger  number  than  in  any 
year  of  the  previous  nine  years.  Comparing  this  accession 
with  that  of  other  Churches  duiing  the  year  ]862,  as 
recorded  in  the  minutes  of  the  General  Association  of  Con- 
necticut, we  find  more  fruits  from  his  labors,  and  larger 
accessions  of  members,  than  in  the  ministry  and  Churches 
represented  in  the  Council  who  condemned  him  and  us  as 
unfaithful.  Of  the  284  Congregational  Churches  in  the 
State,  (222  consociated,  and  62  independent,)  only  two  had 
so  large  an  accession. 

If  these  be  indications  of  infidelity  to  duty  and  to  God, 
we  pray  they  may  abound ;  that  as  a  Church  we  may  be 
"  steadfast,  unmovable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of 
the  Lord  ; "  and  that  as  a  minister,  Mr.  Carroll  may  continue 
to  refuse  to  promulgate  for  doctrines  of  Christ  "  the  com- 
mandments of  men,"  and  may  continue  to  know  nothing 
among  ?<s  save  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified. 

New  Haven,  January  1,  1864. 

(Signed)      THOMAS  HORSFALL,  1 

^'f^/J,^\i^f  ^wSrp '^^'  I    Standing 
CHARLES  H.  WARNER,         )■  c^^,^xit&^ 
CHAS.  F.  HOTCHKISS,  I    Committee. 

JOHN  H.  LEEDS,  3 

Myron  Barrett,  Stated  Clerk. 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  133 

At  a  meeting  of  the  South  Congrefrational  Church,  held 
in  their  Chapel  on  the  evening  of  January  1,  1864,  the 
above  Reply  was  read,  and  the  followuig  resolution,  offered 
by  Mr.  Edwin  W.  Treat,  was  unanimously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  Report  of  the  Standing  Committe 
just  read,  in  reply  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Council  recently 
held  in  this  city,  be  approved  by  this  Church,  and  pub- 
lished. 

THOS.  HORSFALL, 

Clerk  of  the  Meeting. 


The  above  documents  were  published  in  the  New 
Haven  papers, — the  former  near  the  close  of  1863, 
and  the  latter  on  the  2d  of  January,  1864.  They 
were  followed  by  others,  which  are  here  subjoined : 

REJOINDER 
To  THE  "Reply  of  the  South  Church." 

The  Sta7iding  Cammittee  of  the  South  Church,  in  their 
reply  to  the  Result  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Council  recently 
convened  at  the  request  of  certain  petitioners  in  this  city, 
have  undertaken  to  bring  charges  against  the  body  of  tlio 
complainants  and  against  individual  members  by  name. 

Tlie  petitioners  desire  to  state,  that  in  their  action  they 
have  been  influenced  only  by  a  sense  of  duty.  On  consult- 
ing as  to  the  best  means  of  providing  a  place  of  worship 
more  congenial  to  their  views  of  duty,  they  were  advised 
that  a  Council  convened  to  form  a  new  Church,  would  have 
as  one  of  its  first  duties,  to  inquire  info  the  reasons  for  their 
leaving  the  South  Churcii,  and  that  to  call  a  Mutual  Coun- 
cil where  both  parties  might  represent  their  case,  was  the 
most  suitable  course  to  be  taken  in  ]>ursuance  of  their  ob- 
ject. No  other  course,  therefore,  seemed  open  to  them,  but 
the  one  they  have  taken. 


134  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL, 

The  petitioners,  of  course,  are  not  to  be  lield  responsible 
for  the  action  and  finding  of  the  Council,  yet  the  unanimous 
judgment  of  the  men  who  constituted  that  body,  represent- 
ing Churches  in  every  part  of  the  State,  will  scarcely  be 
over-ruled  in  the  opinion  of  thoughtful  and  impartial  minds, 
by  the  assertions  of  those  who  refused  to  submit  the  case 
to  a  tribunal,  half  of  whose  members  they  were  at  liberty 
to  select. 

The  petitioners  did  not  claim  before  the  Council  that  the 
names  signed  to  tiie  Memorial  were  a  majority  of  the  breth- 
ren of  the  Church,  but  that  they  represented  a  majority  of 
them.  This  claim  was  grounded  on  the  following  facts, 
viz  : — Mr.  Carroll's  official  returns  to  the  General  Associa- 
tion of  Connecticut,  state  the  number  of  male  members, 
January  1st,  1863,  to  be  44.  The  petitioners  knew  ot  but 
six  male  members  who  had  since  been  received  up  to  the 
date  of  their  memorial,  making  the  whole  number  50 ;  six 
or  more  had  been  dismissed  and  imited  with  other  Churches 
within  the  same  period,  leaving  the  number  of  male  mem- 
bers at  44, — and  they  know  that  26,  including  the  memo- 
rialists, sympathized  with  them.  If  then,  the  official  returns 
to  the  Association  were  correct,  the  number  the  petitioners 
claimed  to  represent,  was  a  majority. 

It  may  be  proper  to  add  a  word  to  illustrate  the  views  of 
some  of  the  members  of  the  Standing  Committee  as  to  the 
treatment  which  an  unquestioned  majority  might  expect  to 
receive  from  the  "rw^w^^jower*"  of  this  Church.  One  of 
the  petitioners  in  conversation  with  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee, declared  his  belief,  that  if  a  Church  meeting  was 
called,  and  the  subject  fairly  considered  of  requesting  Mr. 
Carroll  to  tender  his  resignation,  two  to  one  would  be  in 
favor  of  the  motion;  and  furthermore  he  offered  if  his  state- 
ment was  doubted,  to  give  the  names  of  those  who  he  had 
reason  to  believe  would  vote  for  it. 

The  reply  was  in  substance,  that  it  would  make  no  differ- 
ence if  even  three  fourths  of  the  members  were  in  favor  of 
the  motion;  so  long  as  Mr.  llallock  wished  Mr.  Carroll  to 
stay,  ho  xcouhl  stay,  and  they  could  not  help  themselves. 
It  hasbeen  often  admitted  by  members  of  the  Committee 
and  others,  that  while  the  Church  is  sustained  as  it  now  is, 


THE   EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  135 

almost  entirely  by  tlie  contributions  of  o?ie  man,  his  wishes 
would  have  paramount  weight,  and  the  self-governing  power 
of  the  Church  be  virtually  abrogated. 

It  is  said  that  "  those  of  the  petitioners  who  had  not  been 
dismissed,  had  free  access  to  the  records."  In  reply  to  this, 
one  of  the  petitioners  who  has  not  been  dismissed,  affirms 
that  he  applied  for  an  inspection  of  the  records  and  was 
denied  by  the  Clerk. 

One  of  the  petitioners  is  informed  for  the  Jirst  time  by 
this  document,  that  censure  has  been  passed  upon  him  by 
the  Church  ;  which  it  is  understood  was  voted  at  the  close 
of  the  prayer  meeting  Dec.  2^th,  1863,  (barely  in  time  to 
be  used  in  the  reply  of  the  Committee  of  the  Church,)  and 
without  any  summons  to  the  accused,  who  was  condemned 
without  a  hearing.  Considering  that  this  brother  is  one  of 
those  who  received  letters  of  dismission  and  over  whom 
this  Church  has  declared  itself  to  have  no  control,  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  their  action  in  the  case  vindicates  the 
position  which  they  claim  for  themselves,  of  being  an  ''Inde- 
pendent Congregational  Cliurck''' 

This  brother  would  state  that  the  fact  which  he  noted  in 
the  records,  was  derived  from  the  public  declarations  of  a 
majority  of  the  brethren  in  the  meeting,  both  as  it  respected 
their  opinion,  and  their  votes;  and  it  being  the  duty  of  the 
Clerk  to  note  all  matters  of  interest  to  the  Church,  this  fact 
was  duly  recorded. 

In  relation  to  one  of  the  special  grievances  of  the  peti- 
tioners, the  deprivation  of  their  rights  by  the  Committee, — 
the  latter  justify  their  action  in  refusing  to  call  a  Church 
meeting  upon  the  request  of  a  sufficient  number  of  members, 
by  the  assertion,  that  the  subject  of  ]Mr.  Carroll's  ministra- 
tions over  the  Church  had  been  sufficiently  discussed  at  a 
recent  Church  meeting,  and  "the  annual  meeting  must  be 
held  in  the  ensuing  montli  of  November,'"  when  the  whole 
matter  could  be  rediscussed  and  redecided.  In  reply  the 
petitioners  would  state  that  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  is  settled  for 
an  indefinite  period,  and  in  order  to  dismiss  him  it  is  required 
that  four  months  notice  be  given,  and  this  was  their  object 
in  requesting  the  meeting.  It  was  nearly  four  months 
before  the  "annual  meeting"  to  which  they  refer,  would  be 
held.     It  is  true  that  the  subject  had  been  discussed  at  a 


136  THE    EX-PARTE   COUNCIL. 

previous  meeting  and  declared  to  be  settled  by  a  decisive 
vote,  but  in  the  mean  time  matters  had  assumed  a  diflferent 
aspect.  Mr.  Carroll's  summary  silencing  of  tlie  bell  while 
ringing  for  the  victory  at  Vicksburg,  had  induced  many  who 
had  before  been  his  supporters,  to  believe  that  he  was  not  a 
loyal  man,  and  they  were  ready  to  unite  in  the  call  for  his 
dismissal.  It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  the 
Standing  Committee  assumed  their  "discretionary  powers," 
and  standing  between  Mr.  Carroll  and  the  Church,  refused 
to  allow  the  latter  to  pronounce  its  judgment,  which  it  is 
nearly  certain  would  have  condemned  him.  But  the  Com- 
mittee went  further  than  this.  The  petitioners  addressed  a 
respectful  memorial  to  the  Church  (in  the  customary  form) 
requesting  them  to  unite  in  calling  a  Mutual  Council  to 
advise  in  regard  to  our  respective  duties.  This  memorial 
the  Committee  suiypres'icil, — refusing  to  allow  it  to  come 
before  the  Church  for  their  decision.  In  this  they  claim 
they  exercised  a  reasonable  discretionary  power,  which  nuist 
be  vested  somewhere  to  prevent  the  constant  agitation  of 
the  Church.  The  rule  of  the  Church  under  which  this 
Committee  are  appointed,  and  act,  makes  no  mention  of  sucli 
discretionary  power,  but  on  the  contrary  implicitly  forbids 
it  by  prescribing  their  special  duties,  and  ends  by  stating 
that  they  shall  attend  to  such  other  matters  as  may  be 
referred  to  them  by  the  Church.  As  the  call  for  a  meeting, 
and  the  memorial,  had  never  been  referred  to  them  by  the 
Church,  it  is  clear  that  they  had  no  discretionary  power  in 
the  matter,  but  assumed  a  power  without  right  or  authority. 

Upon  the  question  of  female  voting — 

The  Committee  say  "  that  the  right  of  voting  by  females 
has  never  been  denied  by  the  Church."  Very  true  ;  neither 
has  the  right  been  affirmed  by  the  Church,  which  would 
seem  necessary,  as  the  custom  of  Congregational  Churches 
forbids  tlie  practice.  It  was  the  usual  practice  in  the 
Church  to  vote  by  raising  of  hands,  excepting  in  the  case 
of  officers  wlio  were  elected  by  ballot,  and  female  votes 
were  rarely  oft'ercd  or  counted.  No  instance  is  known  in 
which  females  voted  by  ballot  previous  to  the  meeting  when 
Mr.  Carroll  was  settled  by  female  votes.  At  that  meeting 
some  of  the  females  had  such  an  expansive  idea  of  their 


THE  EX-PAETE  COUNCIL.  137 

rights  that  they  not  only  voted  themselves,  but  also  depos- 
ited votes  for  absent  friends,  thereby  showing  what  irregu- 
larities are  liivcly  to  prevail  on  exciting  occasions,  if  the 
practice  of  female  voting  obtains. 

But  the  Committee  have  endeavored  to  strengthen  their 
position  by  an  argument  from  the  covenant,  wlwch  as  they 
claim,  by  giving  every  member  all  the  privileges  of  the 
Church,  must  necessarily  give  to  females  the  right  of  voting. 
This  argument  proves,  if  anything,  that  females  have  the 
right  of  being  appointed  deacons,  acting  upon  Committees, 
the  right  of  discussion  in  business  meetings,  and  of  prayer 
and  exhortation  in  prayer  meetings.  The  right  of  perform- 
ing these  actions  is  granted  by  the  covenant  as  well  as  the 
right  to  vote,  and  has  never  been  denied  by  the  Church. 
We  hardly  think  the  Committee  would  be  prepared  to  fol- 
low out  this  argument  to  its  logical  conclusion. 

Mr.  Carroll's  "  utterances"  in  a  certain  letter  addressed 
to  one  of  the  petitioners,  are  brought  forward  in  this  reply, 
to  disprove  the  imputation  of  his  disloyalty.  As  it  is  im- 
plied that  this  letter  was  withheld  from  the  Council,  it  is 
due  to  this  brother,  as  well  as  to  Mr.  Carroll,  to  state  that 
Mr.  Carroll's  whole  letter  was  read  to  the  Council, 
and  he  has  received  all  the  advantage  he  could  derive  from 
having  these  utterances  of  his  laid  before  them. 

That  the  public  may  understand  the  reasonableness  of 
the  demand  which  the  petitioners  make  in  relation  to  this 
point,  the  following  extract  from  the  rejoinder  to  Mr.  Car- 
roll's letter  is  here  given. 

"I  know  of  no  one  in  our  Church  who  desires  to  have 
•  party  politics'  either  preached  or  prayed  in  the  pulpit.  I 
know  of  no  one  who  wishes  the  'Shibboleth  of  a  party 
intoned  in  prayer,'  but  I  do  know  of  many  whose  loyal, 
not  PARTiZAN,  feelings  crave  at  least  this  concession,  viz  : 
a  decisive  reprobatiox  of  the  rebellion,  and  a  decisive  ap- 
probation of  the  Government  in  its  efforts  to  maintain  its 
own  integrity. 

'*Thoy  crave  an  admission  that  the  cause  to  which 
their  fathers,  sons,  and  husbands,  and  brothers  have  freely 
devoted  their  lives,  is  a  just  and  worthy  cause.  I  do  not 
see  how  this  can  be  construed  into  partizan  politics,  unless 
the  partizans  are  secessionists  on  the  one  band  and  loy- 
12 


138  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL, 

ALiSTS  on  the  other ;  for  men  of  all  the  late  acknowledged 
parties,  and  religionists  of  every  persuasion,  are  found 
UNITED  ON  THIS  PLATFORM.  Neither  do  I  know  or  believe 
that  this  concession  to  the  feelings  of  our  members  would 
give  offense  to  any  one,  or  produce  any  division  among  our 
people." 

.  What  Is* there  in  this  demand  that  is  either  unreasonable 
or  unchristian  ? 

The  petitioners  would  also  reaffirm  what  has  been  sus- 
tained by  the  signatures  of  some  forty  names  of  persons 
who  are  or  have  been  members  of  the  South  Church,  that 
"it  is  not  known  to  us  that  either  in  preaching,  prayer  or 
conversation,  Mr.  Carroll  has  ever  admitted  that  the  rebel- 
lion of  the  South  against  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  is  criminal,  or  that  he  has  ever  expressed  a  wish  or 
a  prayer  for  the  success  of  our  armies  over  the  rebels,  or 
for  the  re-establishment  of  the  Union  over  the  rebellious 
States,  or  that  he  has  ever  expressed  in  public  a  word  of 
thanksgiving  for  any  victories  or  successes  obtained  by  our 
armies.  Is  there  another  minister  of  any  denomination  in 
this  city  or  in  the  State,  of  whom  this  can  be  said  1 

Allusion  is  made  to  disloyal  sentiments  said  to  have  been 
uttered  in  prayer  by  one  of  the  petitioners  who  had  been 
unjustly  imprisoned  in  Fort  Lafayette. 

It  is  true  that  Dr.  Nicoll,  while  smarting  under  the  wrong 
inflicted  by  an  abuse  of  power,  the  proper  use  of  which  he 
has  never  questioned,  did  pray  that  those  who  trifled  with 
and  misused  the  power  with  which  they  were  entrusted  by 
God,  might  be  removed  from  places  of  authority;  and  it  is 
also  true,  (which  the  Standing  Committee  neglected  to 
mention,)  that  in  the  same  prayer  he  did  earnestly  pray  for 
the  overthrow  of  the  rebellion,  and  for  the  freedom  of  the 
oppressed. 

'^I'his  reply  intimates  that  in  but  one  instance  Mr.  Carroll 
has  characterized  the  action  of  the  Government  as  "  tyran- 
nical and  unjust." 

It  was  stated  Ijcforo  Ihe  Council,  that  at  the  breaking  out 
of  the  rebellion  his  outspoken  sympathy  with  the  traitors 
compelled  him  to  leave  a  hotel  in  a  neighboring  city,  bo- 
cause  the  guests  would  not  endure  the  presence  of  one  so 
disloyal. 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  139 

It  was  also  stated  that  he  had  declared  in  effect,  that 
were  it  not  for  personal  considerations,  he  would  go  south 
of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  and  share  the  fortune  of  the 
rebellion,  with  which  cause  he  was  one  at  heart. 

Has  Mr.  Carroll  forgotten  the  language  he  used  in  public 
prayer  on  the  morning  of  the  Lord's  Day  wiieu  the  news 
came  of  the  battle  before  Fredericksburg  'i  Certainly  those 
well-considered  sentences  condemning  the  war  can  not  have 
slipped  his  memory,  since  he  expressed  to  one  of  our  num- 
ber a  regret  that  he  was  absent,  and  did  not  hear  the  "  talt. 
prayixg"  in  the  forenoon. 

In  the  matter  of  loyalty  claimed  for  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Carroll — this  has  not  been  denied.  It  is  the  persistent 
efforts  and  determination  of  a  few  who  hold  the  power,  to 
foist  and  fix  in  the  pastorate  of  the  Church  a  man  whom 
they  believe  to  be  disloyal,  of  which  the  petitioners  com- 
plain. Of  the  soldiers  who  have  gone  from  the  Church 
into  the  army,  we  know  of  but  one  or  two  who  have  ever 
acknowledged  that  they  had  received  a  word  of  sympathy 
and  encouragement  from  Mr.  Carroll,  in  regard  to  their 
DUTIES  AS  .SOLDIERS.  Will  the  Congregation  ever  forget 
the  deep  disappointment  that  was  felt  at  the  character  of 
the  services  when  soldiers  from  the  15th  Regiment  were 
present,  by  special  invitation,  to  hear  their  minister's  part- 
ing counsel  ? 

The  Standing  Committee  claim  that,  under  the  ministra- 
tions of  Mr.  Carroll,  the  congregation  has  been  larger  than 
before ;  while  the  additions  to  the  Church,  within  the  year 
just  closed,  have  been  forty-three — "a  larger  number  than 
in  any  year  of  the  previous  nine  years." 

To  this  it  may  be  replied,  that  at  least  seventy  mem- 
bers, including  the  petitioners,  have  left  during  the  year,  or 
are  ready  to  leave  the  Church  when  another  place  of  wor- 
ship shall  be  provided,  because  of  their  dislike  to  Mr.  Car- 
roll's ministrations  :  and  that  in  the  year  1857  the  number 
of  members  admitted  to  the  Church  was  forty-seven. 

It  may  be  stated  for  the  information  of  those  interested 
in  our  object,  that  already  a  larger  sum  has  been  pledged 
by  i)ersons  in  the  vicinity  of  the  South  Church  to  support 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  in  case  a  new  Church  is  formed, 
than  has  ever  been  raised  in  one  year  by  that  Church  for 


140  THE  EX-PARTE  COUNCIL, 

the  same  purpose,  aside  from  the  contributions  of  one  indi- 
vidual ;  and  that  if  those  who  are  friendly  to  their  object 
will  provide  them  with  a  suitable  buikling,  the  petitioners 
will  have  no  occasion  to  depend  upon  the  contributions  of 
the  old  and  wealthy  Churches. 

Whether  in  view  of  the  foregoing  facts  the  complainants 
were  wrong  in  asking  to  be  heard  in  the  Church  ;  and 
when  tliat  was  forbidden,  in  a  private  conference  ;  and 
when  that  was  declined,  in  seeking  for  a  Mutual  Council; 
and  when  that  was  denied,  in  calling  for  an  Ex-parte  Coun- 
cil— the  public  will  determine. 

In  behalf  of  the  Petitioners. 


SOUTH  CHURCH,— AGAIN. 

Remarks  on  the  "Rejoinder." 
Messrs.  Editors  : — As  the  Standing  Committee  of  the 
South  Church  have  not  seen  lit  to  reply  to  the  "  Rejoinder" 
of  the  petitioners  for  an  Ex-parte  Council,  and  as  the  peti- 
tioners miglit  deem  themselves  slighted  if  their  production 
was  wholly  passed  over  in  silence,  permit  a  member  of  said 
Church,  not  belonging  to  the  Standing  Committee,  to  oifer 
a  few  words  by  way  of  comment.  He  will  be  best  under- 
stood liy  quoting  brief  extracts  from  the  "  R(*joinder,"  and 
then  adding  his  own  remarks.    The  petitioners  say  : 

"  On  consulting  as  to  the  best  moans  of  providing  ;i  place  of  worship 
more  congenial  to  their  views  of  duty,  they  were  advised  that  a  Coun- 
cil convened  to  form  a  new  Church,  would  have,  as'one  of  its  first  duties, 
to  inquire  into  the  reasons  for  their  leaving  the  South  Church." 

So  this  Ex  parte  Council  was  itself  the  result  of  counsel  ; 
and,  although  called  ostensibly  to  consider  the  expediency 
of  forming  a  new  Church,  was  mainly  designed,  at  least  l)y 
the  "advisers,"  for  another  purpose,  viz :  to  get  a  dig  at 
the  South  Church.  [We  had  no  doul)t  that  such  was  the 
fact,  but  did  not  expect  the  petitioners  to  confess  it.] 
Accordingly  the  discussion  and  finding  of  the  Council  in  re- 
gard to  tlie  South  Churcii  occupy  almost  the  whole  extent 
of  their  "  Result,"  as  given  to  the  public,  while  in  regard  to 


THE  EX-PARTE  COUNCIL.  141 

the  formation  of  a  new  Church  they  have  said  very  little, 
and  that  little  of  a  very  indefinite  character.  Who  these 
"  advisers  "  were,  may  be  safely  inferred  from  an  inspection 
of  the  roll  of  Council.  That  several  of  them  had  long  been 
aching  for  a  chance  to  whip  the  South  Church  into  their 
Abolition  traces,  was  well  understood  by  members  of  that 
Church  ;  who,  while  they  would  do  nothing  intentionally  to 
invite  or  provoke  such  interference,  were  not  disposed  to 
purchase  exemption  therefrom  by  the  surrender  of  their  just 
rights  as  an  Independent  Congregational  Church.  But 
leaving  what  we  have  further  to  say  on  the  subject  of  the 
Council,  and  of  Councils  generally,  to  the  closing  part  of 
this  article,  we  pass  to  another  extract  from  the  petitioners' 
Rejoinder : 

'•The  petitioners  of  course,  are  not  to  bo  held  responsible  for  the 
action  and  finding  of  the  Council." 

"Why  not  ?  Was  not  the  Council  a  thing  of  their  own 
creating  %  Did  not  its  decisions  rest  mainly  on  their  own 
assertions  ?  To  this  extent  they  are  responsible  for  "  the 
finding  and  action  of  the  Council ;"  and  they  wi.l  not  be 
permitted  to  escape  from  that  responsibility  by  throwing 
the  whole  burden  upon  the  shoulders  of  men  who  have 
as  much  as  they  can  carry,  with  all  the  help  the  petitioners 
can  give  them.  Do  the  petitioners  mean  to  repudiate  the 
action  of  their  own  Council  ?  Besides  the  slur  above  indi- 
cated, one  of  them  has  applied  to  the  South  Church  for  a 
letter  of  dismission  and  received  it,  since  the  meeting  of  the 
Council,  notwithstanding  the  generous  offer  of  the  latter 
body  to  give  them  letters  of  jts  own,  thus  usurping  or 
superseding  the  powers  of  tlie  Church  in  that  matter.  But 
it  seems  that  at  least  o\e  of  the  petitioners  prefers  to  re- 
ceive his  credentials  from  the  Church,  although  resting 
under  the  ban  of  the  Council,  rather  than  from  the  Council 
itself.     We  commend  the  wisdom  of  his  course. 

'■  The  peiitioncrs  did  not  cUiim  boforo  the  Council  that  liie  n.-mu-a 
signed  to  the  Memorial  vicrc  a  majority  of  the  brethren  of  the  Chinch, 
but  that  thev  represented  a  majority  of  them." 

12* 


142  THE  EX-PARTE  COUNCIL. 

Hear  the  Council  on  this  head  : 

"  This  Council  lias  been  convened  by  certain  brotliren  styling  THEM- 
SELVES the  majority  of  the  brethren  of  the  South  Congregational 
Church   in   New  Haven." 

Which  shall  we  helieve, — the  petitioners  ? — or  the  Coun- 
cil? 

"  This  claim  [of  a  majority  of  the  male  members]  was  grounded  on 
the  following  facts,  viz : — Mr.  Carroll's  official  returns  to  the  General 
Association  of  Connecticut,  state  the  number  of  male  members,  Janu- 
ary 1st,  18C3,  to  be  44.  The  petitioners  knew  of  but  six  male  mem- 
bers who  had  since  been  received  up  to  the  date  of  their  memorial, 
making  the  whole  number  50 ;  six  or  more  had  been  dismissed  and 
united  with  other  Churches  within  the  same  i>eriod,  leaving  the  num- 
ber of  male  members  at  44, — and  they  know  that  26,  including  the 
memorialists,  sj'mpathizcd  with  them." 

"  Mr.  Carroll's  official  returns."  These  returns  were  fur- 
nished to  Mr.  Carroll  by  Deacon  Minor,  who  is  therefore 
responsible  for  their  correctness.  They  state  the  number 
oi  male  members  of  the  South  Church  on  the  1st  of  Janu- 
ary, 1863,  at  44.  The  petitioners  say  they  "  knew  of  but 
six  male  members  who  had  since  been  received,  up  to  the 
date  of  their  memorial."*  Now,  the  fact  is,  that  ticelve  male 
members  had  since  been  received,  viz  : — On  the  4th  of  Jan- 
uary, 2;  1st  of  March,  4;  3d  of  May,  4;  5th  of  July,  2. 
Total,  12,t  This  shows  how  careless  the  petitioners  are 
about  their  figures.  They  count  but  six  when  there  are 
twelve.  Add  12  to  44,  andjt  makes  50,  instead  of  50,  does 
it  not?  From  56,  then,  deduct  6  who  they  say  had  been 
dismissed  and  united  with  other  Churches,  (we  know  of  but 

*  Following  the  petitioners,  we  shall  hereafter  speak  of  the  memo- 
rial as  if  dated  at  the  time  it  was  presented ;  say  about  the  last  of 
October.  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  not  dated  at  all.  But  the  Clerk's 
reply  to  it  is  dated  Xov.  3d. 

f  The  namo.i  arc  before  us,  and  can  easily  bo  had  by  the  petitioners, 
if  wantod. 


THE  EX-PARTE  COUNCIL.  143 

five  who  had  united  with  other  Churches, — certainly  there 
were  not  more  than  six,)  and  it  leaves  50  male  members  at 
the  date  of  the  memorial.  Of  these  they  claim  26,— the 
least  possible  majority, — including  six  si/mpathiscrs.  These 
sympathisers,  we  suspect,  are  a  very  uncertain  reliance ; 
for,  if  it  had  been  possible  by  solicitations  and  entreaties  to 
get  their  names  upon  the  memorial,  we  need  not  say  that 
it  would  have  been  done.  Now,  if  a  single  individual  of 
the  six  claimed  as  sympathisers,  is  not  so  in  fact,  then, 
according  to  their  own  showing,  after  correcting  a  single 
blunder  as  above,  (which  they  cannot  and  will  not  deny  to 
bo  such,)  they  have  not  a  majority  of  the  brethren,  and  do 
not  even  repkese.nt  a  majority.  Observe  further,  that 
among  the  signers  and  sympathisers  are  included  six  who 
had  been  dismissed  from  the  Church  by  general  letter. 
Deduct  these  from  the  whole  numl)er  of  male  members  (50) 
as  above,  at  the  date  of  the  memorial,  and  also  from  the  26 
claimed  by  the  petitioners,  and  it  leaves  20  signers  and 
sympathisers,  out  of  a  total  of  44  male  members  ;  being 
three  less  than  a  majority.  We  have  thus  carried  out  the 
calculation  of  the  petitioners,  after  making  the  single  cor- 
rection above  mentioned — from  which  it  appears  that  in  or- 
der to  show  even  the  smallest  possible  majority,  they  are 
obliged  to  assume :  1st,  That  tliere  were  only  44  male 
members  on  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  which  is  contrary  to 
the  fact.  2d,  That  members  dismissed  by  general  letter 
are  still  members  in  full,  and  entitled  to  the  privilege  of 
voting;  which  is  contrary  to  the  fact,  at  least  in  the  South 
Church.  3d,  That  six  members  sympathize  with  the  peti- 
tioners who  cannot  be  induced  to  sign  their  paper.  4th,  In 
order  to  make  these  assumptions  available  to  their  purpose, 
they  are  obliged  further  to  assume  that  only  male  members 
have  a  right  to  vote ;  which  is  contrary  to  the  fact,  at  least 
in  the  South  Church.  Upon  the  validity  of  these  assump- 
tions, all  of  which  are  fallacious,  rests  the  only  shadow  of  a 
claim  which  the  petitioners  had,  to  represent  the  South 
Church  before  the  Council. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  records  shows  that  instead 
of  44  male  members  on  the  1st  of  January,  1S63,  as 
reported  by  Deacon  Minor  to  Mr.  Carroll,  and  by  the  latter  to 
the  General  Association  of  Connecticut,  there  were  in  fact 


144  THE  p:x-pakte  council. 

FIFTY  male  members  at  that  date,  kxclusive  of  two,  who, 
with  their  families,  had  been  for  a  considerable  period  absent 
from  the  city,  and  whose  present  residence  w^as,  and  is,  to 
the  Church  unknown.  Between  the  1st  of  January,  1863, 
and  the  date  of  the  petitioners'  memorial,  twelve  male 
members  were  added  by  letter  or  profession,  and  sixteen 
dismissed,  viz  :  5  by  letter  to  other  Churches,  8  by  general 
letter,  1  by  discipline,  and  2  by  death.  Leaving  at  the  date 
of  the  memorial,  forty-six  male  members,  exclusive  of  the 
two  above  mentioned.  If  these  two  were  included,  it  would 
make  48.  But  call  it  46.  Of  the  eight  dismissed  by  gen- 
eral letter,  five  are  signers  of  the  memorial ;  two  are  doubt- 
less incliuled  among  the  "sympathizers ;  "  and  one  is  under- 
stood to  have  joined  another  Ciuirch.  Deduct  the  first 
seven  of  these  eight  from  the  26  signers  and  sympathizers 
claimed  by  the  petitioners,  (for  in  all  their  calculations  they 
include  the  general  letter  men,)  and  it  leaves  them  but  19. 
That  is,  they  do  not  even  claim  more  than  1 9  signers  and 
sympathizers,  out  of  the  46  male  members  above  stated; — 
the  other  seven  of  their  number  consisting  of  men  who  had 
been  dismissed  by  general  letter,  and  who  tlierefore  were  no 
longer  reckoned  as  members  by  tbe  Church.  If,  however, 
these  were  included  us  members,  it  would  increase  the  num- 
ber of  male  members  to  53  at  the  date  of  the  memorial. 
Twenty-six  is  not  a  majority  of  53  ;  neither  is  19  a  majority 
of  46.  Take  it  which  way  they  will,  therefore  ;  include  the 
general  letter  men,  or  exclude  them  ;  and  count  in  for  the 
petitioners  all  the  sympathizers  they  claim ;  still  they  fall 
short  of  a  majority  of  the  ?iia?e  members.  Hence  it 
appears — 

1.  That  the  petitioners  to  the  Council,  20  in  number,  are 
not  what  they  "  styled  theaisklves,"  according  to  the 
published  declaration  of  that  body,  "  the  majority  of  the 
brethren  of  the  South  Congregational  Church  in  New 
Haven." 

2.  Tiiat  they  do  \oT  "represent"  a  majority  of  the 
brethren. 

3.  That  tlicy  and  all  tlic  "sympathizers"  Ihcy  claim, 
are  not  togi;thkr  a  majority  of  the  brethren  of  the  South 
Churcli. 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  145 

4.  And  admitting  that  they  were,  it  would  amount  to 
nothing  in  a  Churcli  where  there  is  no  caste,  but  where 
ALi,  the  members,  150  to  160  in  number,  are  by  covenant 
and  usage  entitled  to  vote ;  and  where,  since  the  last 
"secession"  of  disaffected  members,  31st  of  July  last, 
there  has  been  almost  perfect  unanimity  ;  not  five  votes 
having  been  given  at  any  Church  meeting,  since  that  date, 
in  opposition  to  the  views  of  Mr.  Carroll  and  his  friends. 
In  one  of  those  meetings  the  number  of  votes  was  between 
GO  and  70. 

GOSSIP. 

The  conversation  alleged  in  the  Rejoinder  to  have  taken 
place  between  one  of  the  petitioners  and  a  member  of  the 
Standing  Committee  of  the  South  Church,  is  not  recognized 
by  an]i  member  of  that  Committee  as  an  actual  occurrence. 
One  of  them  remembers  the  conversation  which  he  supposes 
is  alluded  to,  but  denies  that  it  is  correctly  reported,  even 
"  in  substance."  He  is  represented  to  have  said,  in  sub- 
stance : 

"  It  would  make  no  difference  if  even  three-fourths  of  the  members 
were  in  favor  of  the  motion ;  so  long  as  Mr.  Hallock  wished  Mr.  Carroll 
to  staj',  ho  would  stay,  and  they  could  not  help  themselves.  It  has 
been  often  admitted  by  members  of  the  Committee  and  others,  that 
while  the  Church  is  sustained  as  it  now  is,  almost  entirely  by  the  con- 
tributions of  one  man,  his  wishes  would  have  paramount  weight,  and 
the  self-governing  power  of  the  Church  be  virtually  abrogated." 

The  smallest  proportionate  majority  ever  given  for  Mr. 
Carroll,  by  the  South  Church,  was  on  the  18th  of  February 
last,  when  there  were  51  votes  in  his  favor,  and  22  against 
him,  as  announced  at  the  time  by  the  chairman,  Dea.  Minor. 
The  way  to  test  the  truth  of  the  «'  three-fourths  "  statement, 
is,  to  get  such  a  majority,  or  any  majority  at  all.  There  is 
no  chance  to  test  it,  so  long  as  the  petitioners  and  their 
sympathizers  can  muster  only  2^  votes  against  51.  They 
will  not  pretend  that  a  majority  vote  of  the  Church  was  ever 
overruled,  or  attempted  to  be  overruled,  by  Mr.  Hallock. 
Perhaps  their  meaning  is,  that  a  majority  vote  is  sure  to  be 
given  in  accordance  with  his  wishes.    But  how  arc  his  wishes 


146  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

ascertained  when  he  does  not  express  thein,  as  is  often  the 
case  ?  It  would  be  more  coiTCct  to  say  he  is  sure  to  sustain 
the  will  of  the  majority.  Happily,  an  accordance  of  views 
has  commonly  existed  between  him  and  a  majority  of  the 
Church,  but  not  always.  How  about  that  "majority  of  the 
brethren  "  claimed  by  the  petitioners  on  the  occasion  above 
alluded  to  1  So  there  was  a  little  independence  left  at  that 
date,  although  confined  to  the  petitioners  and  those  who 
"sympathized"  with  them!  When  the  last  of  them  has 
withdrawn,  agreeably  to  the  advice  of  their  own  Council,  all 
independence  of  opinion  and  of  action  will  have  gone  with 
them,  no  doubt !     In  other  words,  the  Church  will  be  united. 

"  One  of  the  petitioners  is  informed  for  the  Jirst  time,  bj'  tliis  docu- 
ment, that  censure  has  been  passed  upon  him  by  the  Church,  which  it 
is  understood  was  voted  at  the  dob-e  of  the  ^rraijer  meeting^  Dec.  2Wi,  - 
1863,  (barely  in  time  to  be  used  in  the  reply  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Church,)  and  without  any  summons  to  the  accused,  who  was  con- 
demned without  a  hearing.  Considering  that  this  brother  is  one  of 
those  who  received  letters  of  dismission,  and  over  whom  this  Church 
has  declared  itself  to  have  no  control,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
their  action  in  the  case  vindicates  the  position  wliich  thej'  claim  for 
themselves,  of  being  an  ^  Indepaident  Con'jnrjalional  Church.''  " 

The  censure  passed  upon  the  late  Clerk,  Dr.  Nicoll,  for 
tampering  with  the  records,  was  in  perfect  accordance  with 
the  position  maintained  by  the  Church  as  to  members  dis- 
missed from  it  without  as  yet  being  connected  with  any 
other  Church,  viz  :  that  although  such  persons  are  not  enti- 
tled to  the  full  rights  of  membership,  yet  the  Church  can 
exercise  a  watch  and  disci|»line  over  them  until  received 
into  some  other  Church.  By  what  authority,  then,  do  the 
petitioners  assert  that  "this  Church  has  declared  itself  to 
have  no  control  over  those  who  have  received  letters  of 
dismission  ?  "  AVhen  did  they  make^  such  a  declaration  1 
Never. 

"This  brother  would  stale  that  tlie  fact  which  he  noted  in  the  re- 
cords was  derived  from  the  2}ublic  declarations  of  a  majority  of  the 
brethren  in  their  meeting,  both  as  it  respected  their  opinion  and  their 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  147 

votes,  and  it  being  the  duty  of  the  Clerk  to  note  all  matters  of  interest 
to  the  Church,  this  fact  was  duly  recorded." 

We  rather  wish  that  "this  brother"  had  been  called 
before  the  Church,  as  it  would  then  have  been  practically 
shown  whether  he  held  himself  amenable  to  its  jurisdiction, 
or  whether  he  claimed  the  right  of  speaking  and  voting  in 
its  meetings,  without  being  subject  to  its  watch,  care  and 
discipline.  However,  both  the  Church  and  the  public  now 
know  what  would  have  been  his  defense,  viz  :  that  he  made 
the  entry  complained  of,  on  the  strength  of  "  the  public 
declarations  of  a  majority  of  the  brethren  in  the  meeting, 
both  as  it  respected  their  opinion  and  their  votes."  Does 
he  mean  to  say  that  "  a  majority  of  the  brethren  in  the 
meeting  "  spoke  in  the  meeting  against  the  continuance  of 
Mr.  Carroll,  and  declared  that  they  should  vote  against  him  ? 
If  so,  it  looks  like  a  previously  contrived  plan  to  accomplish 
an  object.  He  first  moves,  and  gains  assent  from  an  unsus- 
pecting majority,  that  the  vote  be  taken  by  "  secret  ballot ;  " 
and  then,  in  his  own  "secret"  way,  claims  to  have  ascer- 
tained that  "a  majority  of  the  brethren"  voted  in  the 
negative  ;  and  so  enters  it  upon  the  official  records  of  the 
Church.  No  opportunity  was  given  to  the  majority  to  chal- 
lenge the  statement;  confessedly  it  was  not  founded  upon 
any  actual  vote  ;  it  was  not  declared  l)y  the  chairman  or  by 
any  body  else  before  the  Church — but  rested,  and  still  rests, 
upon  the  naked  assertion  of  the  then  Clerk,  Dr.  NicoU.  A 
prudent  man  would  not  have  voluntarily  placed  himself  in  a 
position  where  his  integrity  or  accuracy  would  be  so  liable 
to  be  called  in  question,  without  any  visible  means  of  sub- 
stantiating his  statement,  which,  even  if  correct,  he  had  no 
right  to  enter  upon  the  records  of  the  Church,  as  it  made  a 
distinction  which  the  Church  had  never  authorized,  between 
the  votes  of  meml:)ers,  and  because  such  a  stealthy  mode  of 
obtaining  results,  would,  if  tolerated,  expose  the  Church,  or 
any  otiier  body  of  persons  where  it  was  practiced,  to  the 
most  enormous  abuses. 

'•Jlr.  Carroll's  suunnarj' silencing  of  the  bell  while  ringing  for  the 
victory  at  Yiokshurg.  hnd  induced  many  who  had  before  been  his  sup- 


148  THE   EX-PARTE   COUNCIL. 

porters,  to  Vjelieve  that  lie  was  not  a  loyal  man,  and  tliey  were  ready  to 
unite  in  the  call  for  his  dismissal.  It  was  under  these  circumstances 
that  the  Standing  Committee  assumed  their  '  discretionary  powers ' 
and  standing  between  Mr.  Carroll  and  the  Church,  refused  to  allow  the 
latter  to  pronounce  its  judgment,  which  it  is  nearly  certain  would  have 
condemned  him." 

If  this  is  a  correct  statement,  it  proves  that  the  occasion 
alluded  to  was  exactl.y  the  time  when  any  discretionary 
power  which  the  Standing  Committee  possessed,  should  be 
exercised,  to  prevent  hasty  and  injudicious  action.  The 
incident  about  the  bell  (which  was  subsequently  explained 
to  the  satisfaction  of  a  great  majority  of  the  Church,)  was 
seized  upon  l)y  those  who  had  previously  sought  to  displace 
Mr.  Carroll,  but  had  signally  failed,  as  an  encom*agement 
to  renew  the  onset,  hoping,  under  the  excitement  and  mis- 
apprehension of  the  moment,  to  accomplish  their  object. 
Had  they  succeeded,  it  is  now  certain  that  they  would  have 
precipitated  a  course  of  action  which  a  great  majority  of 
the  members  in  their  calmer  moments  would  have  deeply 
regretted;  for,  in  every  subsequent  as  well  as  previous 
meeting  of  the  Church,  Mr.  Carroll  has  been  sustained  by  a 
triumphant  majority.  Not  sustaiued  in  the  matter  of  the 
bell,  for  THAT  as  a  distinct  issue  has  never  come  before 
them ;  ])ut  sustained  in  his  general  course,  as  a  most  faith- 
ful, talented,  and  eminently  useful  minister  of  Christ,  whom 
they  desire  to  have  for  their  spiritual  teacher  and  guide, 
in  preference  to  any  other  clergyman  within  their  knowledge. 
Therefore  we  say  that  if,  at  the  moment  of  the  bell  excite- 
ment, the  Church  would  liave  been  "  ready  to  unite  in  the 
call  for  his  dismissal,"  as  alleged  by  the  petitioners,  the 
Clerk  and  Standing  Committee  did  them  an  invaluable  ser- 
vice l)y  refusing  to  call  them  together  at  that  time. 

"The  Committee  say  'that  the  right  of  voting  by  females  has  never 
been  denied  by  the  Church.'  Very  true;  neither  has  the  right  been 
affirmed  by  the  Church,  which  would  seem  necessary,  as  the  custom  of 
Congregational  Churches  forbids  the  practice." 

This  is  falling  from  high  ground.  Before,  the  practice 
was  contrary  to  the  Scriptures;  now  it  is  contrary  to  cus- 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  149 

torn.  Whose  custom  1  "  Of  Congregational  Cliurchcs ;  " 
but  not  of  the  South  Church,  as  an  independent  bod5^ 
And  do  the  petitioners  pretend  that  among  all  the  284  Con- 
gregational Churches  in  this  State,  the  custom  in  regard  to 
female  voting  is  uniform  1  Is  it  so  in  all  the  Churches 
represented  in  the  late  Ex-parte  Council  1  If  we  are  rightly 
informed,  two  Churches  at  least,  of  the  twelve  represented 
in  said  Council,  practice  female  voting,  at  least  sometimes. 
We  refer  to  the  Chapel-street  Church,  of  which  the  Scribe 
of  the  Council,  Rev.  Mr.  Eustis,  is  Pastor,  and  to  the  North 
Church,  of  which  Rev.  Dr.  Button  is  Pastor.  We  have  it 
from  one  who  was  present  at  the  meeting  which  called  Rev. 
Mr.  Eustis,  that  female  members  voted  for  him  as  Pastor. 
Why  then  may  not  females  in  the  South  Church  vote  for 
Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  as  Stated  Supply  ?  Also  in  the  North 
Church,  at  a  meeting  subsequent  to  the  one  called  for  the 
purpose  of  repairing  the  organ,  when  it  was  suggested  that 
the  organ  at  the  other  end  of  the  Church  needed  to  be 
repaired,  or  replaced  by  another,  there  was  a  general  rally 
of  the  Church  members,  male  and  female,  and  by  their 
joint  vote  it  was  decided  to  retain  their  Pastor.*  As.  to 
the  Chapel-street  Church,  we  can  hardly  be  mistaken  when 
we  find  the  statement  confirmed  by  so  good  an  authority  as 
Rev.  Dr.  Dutton,  one  of  the  members  of  the  late  Ex-parte 
Council.  In  a  letter,  dated  May,  1856,  he  wrote  as  fol- 
lows :  "  The  Chapel-street  Church,  in  one  instance  of  elect- 
ing Pastor,  received  the  votes  of  females;  and  also  have 
done  the  same  in  the  election  of  Deacons."  In  another 
part  of  the  same  letter  Dr.  Dutton  wrote:  "From  the 
NATURE  OF  A  Churcii,  as  composcd  of  renewed  persons, 
and  as  having  power  of  self-government,  I  do  not  think 
any  argument  can  be  drawn  against  the  voting  of  females, 
but  the  contrary."  This  is  sensible  talk — pity  he  should 
talk  differently  in  1SG3-4.  Another  gentleman  writes  thus, 
under  date  of  the  13th  inst. :  "  I  was  present  at  a  meeting 
to  give  Mr.  Eustis  a  call,  at  which  Deacon  W.  rose  and  sug- 


*  Note  by  the  Author  op  South  Church  History. — This  infor- 
mation, although  derived  from  a  member  of  the  North  Church  wlio 
was  present  at  said  meeting  and  voted,  proved  to  be  incorrect. 
13 


150  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

gested  that  he  -would  like  to  know  how  those  present 
regarded  Mr.  Eustis, — whether  they  would  like  to  have  him 
for  minister.  All  that  were  present  and  disposed,  threw 
in  a  vote."  '  The  same  thing  occurred  in  the  College-street 
Church,  if  we  are  correctly  informed,  at  a  meeting  for  the 
election  of  pastor  a  few  days  ago, — since  the  holding  of  the 
Council.  Nor  are  these  the  only  exceptions  to  the  "  cus- 
tom" referred  to,  among  the  Congregational  Churches  of 
Connecticut.  Indeed  we  know  that  in  some  others  it  is 
customary  for  females  as  well  as  males  to  rise,  in  token  of 
assent  to  the  reception  of  members  into  the  Church,  after 
the  latter  have  taken  the  covenant.  Raising  the  whole  per- 
son is  as  truly  voting  as  if  only  a  hand  were  raised,  and 
makes  as  much  noise.  If  the  "  silence  "  text  forbids  the 
latter,  then,  a  fortiori,  it  forbids  the  former.  But  it  does 
neither.  Nor  any  more  does  it  forbid  women's  voting  by 
ballot.  Without  quoting  further  precedents  at  this  time, 
we  should  like  to  ask  how  and  why  it  is  so  much  worse  for 
the  South  Church  to  do  a  certain  specified  act,  than  for  the 
Chapel  or  North  or  any  other  Congregational  Church  to  do 
the  same;  and  whether  it  is  bkcoming  for  one  Church  to 
assist  in  exommunicating  another,  for  doing  what  it  does 
itself  As  the  South  Church  is  now  the  aggrieved  party, 
why  should  it  not  proceed  to  convene  a  Council,  ostensibly 
to  consider  its  own  grievances,  but  really  to  get  the  Chapel- 
street  and  North  Churches  excommunicated,  for  violating 
"  the  principles  and  usages  customary  among  the  New 
England  Churches?"  And  why  should  not  Mr.  Carroll 
assemijle  the  Presbytery  to  which  he  belongs,  and  cause  to 
be  arraigned  before  it  the  several  ministers  who  were  mem- 
bers of  the  late  Cou.icil,  and  if  they  neglect  to  appear,  have 
them  pronounced  not  ordained,  liecause  they  failed  to 
give  to  the  Presbytery  "  proper  evidence  of  their  ordination  " 
as  clergymen  in  regular  communion  with  the  Presbyterian 
body,  or  with  any  other  "  evangelical  denomination  ? " 
and  then  tklegraph  it  as  a  fact  all  over  the  land. 
Again  we  ask,  why  not  1 

"It  was  tho  usual  practice  in  the  South  Church  to  vote  by  raising  of 
hands,  excepting  in  the  case  of  officers  who  were  elected  by  ballot,  and 
f(jm?il(j  V9te3  x\'9r^  rarely  pfferei;!  or  counted." 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  151 

They  were  sometimes,  then, — when  the  females  chose  to 
vote  1    Exactly.    This  was  and  is  our  custom. 

"  No  instance  is  known  in  wliicli  females  voted  b}-  ballot  previous  to 
the  meeting  when  Mr.  Carroll  was  settled  by  female  votes." 

No  one  said  they  did.  No  one  said  that  the  vote  on 
accepting  Rev.  Mr.  Noyes'  resignation  was  by  ballot; — 
whether  tlie  70  for  accepting  it  and  the  five  for  rejecting  it, 
voted  by  raising  the  hand  or  by  ballot;  but,  that  they 
enjoyed  the  right  of  voting,  and  did  vote ;  and  if  entitled 
to  vote,  (which  the  petitioners  now  admit,)  they  could  vote 
either  way.  It  is  the  right,  not  the  mode,  which  is  claimed, 
and  the  former  includes  the  latter. 

"This  argument  [from  the  Covenant,]  proves,  if  anything,  that 
females  have  the  right  of  being  appointed  deacons,  acting  upon  com- 
mittees, the  right  of  discus.sion  in  business  meetings,  and  of  praj'er  and 
exhortation  in  prayer  meetings." 

Begging  pardon,  this  does  not  follow.  The  covenant 
does  not  authorize  what  the  Scriptures  forbid.  The  Scrip- 
tures forbid  females  becoming  deacons.  Acts,  vi.,  3. 
"  Look  ye  out  among  you  seven  imen."  The  Scriptures 
forbid  females  to  become  exhorters  in  meeting.  I.  Tim.  ii. 
10,  11.  The  privileges  conferred  by  the  covenant  upon 
ALL  who  take  it,  are  limited  by  the  Scriptures.  Female 
members  who  take  it,  take  it  with  this  limitation,  of  course. 
While  not  i)ermitted  to  become  deacons,  or  to  exhort,  they 
ARE  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  membership  not  forbid- 
den by  the  Scriptures.  Voting  is  one  of  them.  No  where 
is  it  forbidden  in  the  sacred  volume.  We  judge  that  the 
Standing  Oommittee  ake  "prepared  to  follow  out  this 
argument  to  its  logical  conclusion." 

MR.    CARROLL'S     LOYALTY. 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  petitioners'  Rejohider  is 
occupied  with  the  question  of  Mr.  Carroll's  loyalty. 
There  are  several  kinds  of  loyalty  in  this  country  at  the 


152  THE    EX-PAETE    COUNCIL. 

present  time, — some  good,  and  some  not  so  good.  In  order 
to  know  whether  a  man  is  loyal  or  not,  it  is  necessary  to 
ascertain  wliieli  kind  of  loyalty  is  intended.  One  kind 
blows  its  own  trumpet,  while  it  looks  ont  for  fat  contracts, 
custom-house  pickings,  or  any  other  chance  to  serve  its 
country  by  filling  its  own  pocket.  Another  kind,  which  is 
perhaps  the  most  common  of  all,  would,  if  analyzed,  yield 
about  the  following  results  :  abolitionism,  23 ;  sectionalism, 
(the  same  which  existed  before  the  present  war  began, — not 
to  say,  which  fomented  and  precipitated  the  war,)  27 ;  patri- 
otism, 2  ;  self-righteousness,  6 ;  real  benevolence,  1 ;  party 
animosity,  10;  intolerance,  13;  dish-water,  4;  shoddy,  9; 
other  ingredients  too  subtle  to  be  easily  ascertained,  5. 
Total,  100.  It  is  admitted  that  m  this  sense  of  the 
word,  Mr.  Carroll  is  not  as  loyal  as  he  might  be.  And  if 
on  that  account  he  was  waited  on  by  a  mob  some  two  or 
three  years  ago  in  his  native  city,  Brooklyn,  it  is  nothing 
more  than  has  happened  to  many  of  the  purest  patriots  in 
the  land.  During  the  war  of  1812,  Gen,  Lhigan,  of  Balti- 
more, was  killed  by  a  mob.  Even  abolitionists  have  some- 
times been  complimented  in  that  way.  The  Apostle  Paul 
encountered  one  at  Ephesus.  Mobs  only  disgrace  the  par- 
ties concerned  in  them,  or  who  set  them  on;  not  the  objects 
of  their  hatred. 

When  the  petitioners  are  obliged  to  resort  to  an  alleged 
remark  "stated"  to  have  been  made  some  where  to  some- 
body at  some  time  or  other,  by  Mr.  Carroll,  to  the  effect 
that,  "  were  it  not  ibr  personal  considerations,  he  would  go 
south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  and  share  the  fortune  of 
the  rebellion,"  it  shows  how  hard  up  they  are  for  evidence 
to  impeach  his  loyalty.  They  are  however  kind  enough  to 
say,  "  In  the  matter  of  loyalty  claimed  for  the  friends  of 
Mr.  Carroll — this  has  not  been  denied."  "Well;  130  of 
these  loyal  "  friends,"  in  their  letter  to  Mr.  Carroll  accom- 
panying a  New  Year's  Gift  of  $500,  say, — "Wk  are  wit- 
nesses of  the  gross  injustice  of  the  imputations  attempted 
to  be  cast  upon  your  fidelity  to  the  Government  under 
which  we  live.  On  nearly  if  not  quite  every  Sabbath  since 
you  came  among  us,  you  have  prayed  for  our  country,  its 
rulers,  its  officers  and  soldiers,  the  sick  and  wounded,  the 


THE    EX-PARTE   COUNCIL.  153 

(lying  and  bereaved ;  that  the  crushing  son'ows  which  rest 
upon  us  may  be  overruled  for  the  highest  good  of  our  whole 
nation,  and  the  glory  of  God ;  and  tliat  in  His  own  time 
and  way  He  will  stay  the  torrents  of  blood  and  tears  which 
are  flowing  all  over  the  land,  and  grant  us  a  righteous 
Pkace."  And  again,  —  "We  never  heard  a  word  from 
your  lips  which  by  any  fair  construction  of  language  could 
be  made  to  imply  a  lack  of  real  patriotism,  or  any  thing 
inconsistent  with  a  faithful  allegiance  to  the  Government  of 
your  country." 

"Has  Mr.  Carroll  forgotten  the  language  he  used  in  public  praj-er 
on  the  morning  of  the  Lord's  Day  when  news  came  of  the  battle  before 
Fredericksburg  ?  " 

If  Mr.  CaiToll  has  forgotten  that  prayer,  his  people  have 
not.  Whether  it  was  "tall"  or  short,  it  was  one  of  the 
most  solemn  and  earnest  prayers  that  we  ever  listened  to ; 
melting  an  entire  audience,  except,  of  course,  the  petition- 
ers and  their  "sympathizers,"  whose  lively  imaginations 
pictured  images  of  disloyalty  where  nothmg  of  the  kind 
existed.  On  the  following  Sabbath  he  delivered  a  deeply 
interesting  address  on  the  character  and  life  of  Thomas  E. 
Barrett,  one  of  his  members,  who  fell  in  that  battle; 
describing  him  as  a  real  patriot,  who  went  forth  not  for 
any  selfisli  or  sinister  purpose,  but  honestly  to  serve  his 
country. 

As  to  that  ever  memorable  sermon  to  the  loth  regiment 
upon  their  "duties  as  soldiers"  to  their  country  and  to 
Christ,  the  immense  audience  who  listened  to  it,  filling  the 
entire  church,  were  held  in  breathless  silence  and  riveted 
attention,  and  none  were  more  moved  than  the  soldiers 
themselves,  several  of  whom  have  written  home  about  that 
very  discourse,  the  memory  of  which  strengthened  them  in 
the  front  of  the  battle.  Woidd  that  it  might  be  repeated 
by  our  Pastor — speaking  not,  as  one  of  our  former  minis- 
ters did,  to  empty  21  CIVS,  supposed  to  he  filled  with  soldiers, 
but  to  actual  soldiers,  either  in  his  Church  or  at  the  Hos- 
pital, where  he  has  always  olliciated  with  the  utmost  plea- 
sure to  himself  and  to  those  whom  he  addressed. 
13* 


154  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

"  In  the  year  1857  tlie  number  of  members  admitted  to  the  [South] 
Church  was  forty-seven." 

There  must  be  some  mistake  here,  as  the  mimber  of  per- 
sons admitted  in   1^57  was  only  sixteen.     Probably  the 
year  1858  is  intended;  but  even  in  that  year,  according  to 
the  Church  records,  only  42  were  admitted,  and  according 
to  the  tabular  statement  in  the  Congregational  Quarterly, 
43.     The  number  mig/it  have  been   47,   or  even  greater, 
speaking  after  the  manner  of  men,  but  for  the  fact  that  at 
the  most  interesting  period  of  the  revival,  our  then  minister 
was  absent  from  bis  charge  for  nearly  a  month,  on  a  preach- 
ing expedition  to  the  West.     While  the  South   Cliurch, 
under  the  faithful  labors  of  its  pastors,  has,  with  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  received  in  the  year  1863  about  as  many  mem- 
bers as  it  did  in  the  memorable  year  before  mentioned,  (the 
year  of  the  great  revival  throughout  the  land,)  most  other 
Churches  have  languished.     Indeed,  for  the  last  five  years, 
the  statistics  of  the  Churches  generally,  so  far  as  we  have 
had  opportunity  to  examine  them,  show  but  a  melancholy 
record.    The  last  report  (18G3)  of  the  General  Association 
of  Connecticut  contains  a  paper  by  Rev.  Dr.  Cleaveland,  of 
this  city,  which  says:— "In   1859,  one  hundred  and  ten 
Churches,  with  14,184  members,  gained   not  one  from  the 
world.      In  1860,  one  hundred  and    thirty-six   Churches, 
with  19,323  members,  were  alike  fruitless.     In   1861,  one 
hundred  and  forty-six  Churches — more  than  hall  our  whole 
nunibei- — with  19,685  members,  received  not  one  by  profes- 
sion."    It  further  appears  from  the  same  document,  that  in 
1859,  1860   and  1861,   tl)o  aggregate  nuiuher  of  members 
admitted  by  profession  into  all  the  Congregational  Churches 
of  Connecticut,  was  597  less  than  the  number  of  deaths. 
The  statistics  of  the  years  1862  and  1863  are  not  presented 
in  the  same  way,  but  we  doubt  if  they  will  prove  any  more 
favorable.     Indeed,  we  expect   they  will  show  a  further 
diminution.     Dr.  Cleaveland  barely  hints  at  what  may  be 
one  of  the  causes  of  this  declension,  when   he  says,  "  It 
becomes  us  to  be  on  our  guard  lest  any  of  the  great  doc- 
trines of  grace  which  in  all  ages  have  been  the  wisdom  and 


THE    EX-PARTE   COUNCIL.  155 

power  of  God  unto  salvation,  should  be  eclipsed  by  nearer, 
but  infinitely  less  important  objects," 

"At  least  SEVENTY  members,  including  the  petitioners,  have  left  [the 
South  Church]  during  the  year,  or  are  ready  to  leave  the  Church  when 
another  place  of  worship  shall  be  provided,  because  of  their  dislike  to 
Mr.  Carroll's  ministrations." 

We  have  learned  to  be  somewhat  distrustful  of  the  calcu- 
lations of  the  petitioners.  Thus  far  they  have  done  the 
Church  no  harm,  but  good,  by  leaving  it.  Notwitiistanding 
secessions,  the  immber  of  members  is  larger  than  when 
Mr.  Carroll  first  came  among  us.  The  audiences  are  also 
larger.  They  are  larger  since  the  holding  of  the  Council 
than  before.  What  the  petitioners  and  their  "sympathizers" 
may  be  able  to  accomplish  hkreafteu,  of  course  we  do 
not  know.  But,  at  present,  we  feel  no  uneasiness  ai)out  it. 
We  only  hope  they  will  be  as  comfortable  and  happy  in 
their  new  relations  as  we  are  in  ours.  It  is  the  general 
feeling  among  the  members,  that  the  ])rospects  of  the  Church 
were  never  better.  Now  that  Mr.  Carroll  has  declined  the 
call  to  New  York,  we  all  breathe  more  freely,  and  expect  to 
prosper  greatly,  if  his  life  and  health  are  spared,  and  if  God 
continues  to  bless  his  labors  among  us. 

'■Alreadj'  a  larger  sum  has  been  pledged  b}-  persons  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  South  Church  to  support  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  in  case  a 
new  Church  is  formed,  than  has  ever  been  raised  in  one  year  by  that 
Church  for  the  same  purpose,  aside  from  the  contributions  of  one 
individual.'' 

In  a  paragraph  quoted  above,  the  petitioners  speak  of 
the  Church  as  "sustained  *  *  *  almost  entikely  by  the 
contributions  of  one  man,"  and  complain  of  tlie  influence 
thereby  exerted  by  him.  As  the  petitioners  and  their  sym- 
pathizers appear  to  have  a  plenty  of  money,  the  question 
is,  why  they  did  not  curtail  this  one  man's  power,  by  taking 
upon  themselves  a  larger  portion  of  the  burden  which  gave 
him  that  power.  It  will  not  answer  to  say  that  they  do  not 
like  Mr.  Carroll ;  for  he  has  been  with  us  but  about  twenty 


156  THE    EX-PAETE    COUNCIL. 

montlis,  and  his  predecessor,  during  the  latter  part  of  his 
ministry  at  least,  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the  petitioners 
on  the  topics  of  which  they  now  complain.  Why  did  not 
the  "seventy"  pour  forth  their  offerings  liberally  to  sustain 
Mr.  Noyes  ?  Why  leave  the  burden  of  supporting  public 
worship  under  his  ministrations,  as  well  as  Mr.  Carroll's, 
almost  entirely  to  "one  man?"  That  one  man,  we  dare 
say,  would  at  any  time  have  been  willing  to  have  his  influ- 
ence curtailed  in  such  a  way.  He  simply  paid  what  no  one 
else  did,  or  offered  to  pay.  As  however  the  petitioners, 
with  all  their  ability,  have,  by  their  own  showing,  done 
"  almost"  nothing  towards  the  support  of  the  enterprise, 
might  it  not  have  been  as  well,  (if  they  were  dissatisfied 
with  a  minister  whom  they  had  more  agency  in  procuring 
than  the  "one  man"  had,)  to  withdraw  quietly  to  other 
Churches,  as  to  get  up  an  Ex-parte  Council  and  excommu- 
nicate or  attempt  to  excommunicate  the  whole  concern  ? 
However,  if  they  are  satisfied  with  the  result,  we  are.  But 
before  parting,  we  will  just  cpiote  an  extract  of  a  letter  from 
a  Congregational  minister  in  the  interior  of  the  State, 
which  we  hope  they  will  duly  ponder.  In  feeling  and 
judgment  at  least,  we  suspect  he  is  one  of  many.  He  says, 
"  If  Congregationalism  is  right,  your  Church,  as  respects 
the  management  of  its  own  affairs,  is  eminently  right.  If 
Congregationalism  is  right,  your  Church  is  not  only  right, 
but  prospered  because  it  is  right.  Your  practice  is  in  har- 
mony with  common  sense.  Your  reply  to  the  Ex-parte 
Council  is  conclusive.  According  to  your  rules,  or  custom, 
each  member  has  equal  rights  with  every  other  member  in 
strictly  Church  meetings,  and  of  course  may  vote.  In 
these  particulars  you  are  on  the  rock.  Unless  I  sadly  mis- 
take, yours  is  a  model  Congregational  Church.  I  admire 
your  manner  of  duing  things.  J  i)ity  the  Ex-parle  Council. 
Of  course  they  will  nut  confess  it,  but  they  must  be  ashamed 
of  their  ofTiciousness  as  respects  your  alTairs.  Since  writing 
the  above,  I  have  read  the  llejoindor.  If  there  was  no 
more  to  be  said,  it  had  better  not  have  been  said ;  for,  in 
the  light  of  brother  C.'s  friends'  reply,  what  they  say  is  not 
very  creditable  to  theui." 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUXUIL.  157 

In  conclusion,  we  append  the  following  extracts  from  an 
article  in  tlie  Congre<?ational  Quarterly  for  January,  1860, 
on  the  "Authority  of  Councils,"  written  bj'  one  of  the 
Editors,  Rev.  Alonzo  H.  Qui,\t.  If  we  rightly  under- 
stand the  positions  of  the  writer,  they  accord  much  more 
nearly  with  the  views  of  the  South  Church  on  the  points 
he  discusses,  than  with  the  action  of  the  Ex-parte  Council 
recently  held  in  this  city. 

EXTRACTS    FROM    THE    CONGREGATIONAL    QUARTERLY, 
JAN.,    1860. 

"  Whenever  perplexity  arises  in  the  administration  of 
Congregational  Church  policy,  it  is  either  because  its  prin- 
ciples are  misunderstood,  or  because,  when  understood,  they 
are  not  observed  with  Christian  manliness  and  fidelity  by 
its  adherents.  When  practical  confusions  arise  in  the  work- 
ings of  Councils — Councils  stepping  out  of  their  legitimate 
work — Councils  called  to  override  Councils — Councils  ar- 
rayed against  Councils, — we  believe  that  it  is  because  the 
fundamental  principles  which  are  their  basis,  are  forgotten. 
Though  loth,  as  we  are,  to  admit  that  want  of  principle 
ever  enters,  we  must  confess  that  our  policy  is  evidently 
intended,  by  its  reliance  only  on  moral  power,  for  people  in 
a  high  state  of  grace,  and  that  that  grace  is  not  always 
found." 

"  To  remedy  the  want  of  grace  is  not  in  our  power.  To 
do  what  little  in  us  lies  to  explain  some  features  of  Coun- 
cils— esi)ecially  under  the  rather  general  title  above,  we  are 
glad  to  attempt." 

"  What  the  authority  of  Councils  is,  depends  entirely  on 
our  essential  principles.  These  are  two-fold  :  first,  the 
entire  sufficiency  of  every  Church,  in  and  of  itself,  for  all 
purposes  of  government  and  discipline ;  and,  secondly,  the 
obligations  growing  out  of  the  fellowship  of  Churches,  as 
such,  to  each  other,  and  especially  in  all  matters  concerning 
the  general  welfare.  AVhen  these  principles  are  followed, 
there  is  no  practical  difficulty  as  to  the  proper  occasions 
for,  or  the  proper  work  of,  Councils.  It  is  to  these  princi- 
ples that  we  look,  to  find  how  Councils  come  into  being, — 
their  prerogatives  while  in  being, — and  the  force  of  their 
decisions." 


158  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

"I.    THEIR    COMING   INTO   BEING." 

"  Councils  cannot  come  into  being  except  a  Churcii  be 
directly  concerned  in  the  matter  for  consideration.  Indi- 
viduals cannot,  for  their  own  matters,  summon  a  Council ; 
a  Church  must  be  a  party  in  inviting, — the  apparent  excep- 
tion of  Ex-parte  Councils  called  by  aggrieved  individuals 
being  no  real  exception,  as  the  individual  must  complain  of 
some  Church  action,  and  bases  his  call  upon  the  fact  that 
the  Church  of  which  he  complains,  ought  to  have  been  a 
party,  but  has  unreasonably  refused.  An  individual 
complaining  of  another  individual,  a  party  in  a  Church 
complaining  of  an  opposing  party,  dissatisfied  members 
complaining  of  a  pastor, — cannot  call  a  Council.  There 
must  have  been  some  distinct  Church  action,  of  which 
complaint  is  made.  Thus,  if  an  individual  complaining 
of  another,  wishes  for  a  Council,  he  must  first  bring  the 
complaint  formally  before  the  Church ;  if  the  Church  do 
not  remedy  his  grievance,  he  has  no  resource  unless  the 
Church  do  in  some  way  deprive  him  of  his  rights  ;  and 
even  these  rights  cannot  come  before  a  Council  by  his  de- 
mand, unless  the  rights  affected  concern  his  relations  of 
fellowship  with  the  Churches  at  large." 

"AVhile  this  is  the  case  in  matters  concerning  which 
there  is  agreement,  an  idea  sometimes  prevails  that  Coun- 
cils have  appellate  Jurisdiction  in  all  matters  of  Church 
action  with  which  parties  are  dissatisfied.  But  this  is  a 
mistake." 

"  They  have  no  supervisory  power  over  the  internal 
affairs  of  a  Church  ;  that  Church  is,  on  Congregational 
principles,  entirely  sufficient  to  take  care  of  its  own  affairs. 
The  'Churches  consulting'  control  their  fellowship,  but 
not  the  action  of  the  particular  Church." 

"  The  well  known  Council  called  by  the  aggrieved  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  the  Puritans,  New  York,  erred,  or 
rather  their  officers  did,  on  this  very  point ;  thev  declared 
the  action  of  the  Church  to  be  null  and  void,  which  they 
had  no  business  or  power  to  do ;  they  could  only  say  that 
THEV  were  willing  to  fellowship  these  ])rethren  notwith- 
standing the  CHiurch  action,  and  advise  Churches  to  receive 
them  even  without  the  letters  which  had  been,  as  they  said, 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  159 

unjustly  withheld.  We  remember  an  Ex-parte  Council, 
which  aggrieved  persons  who  had  been  admonished  without 
trial,  as  they  said,  had  called,  (after  endeavoring  to  obtain 
a  mutual  one,  in  vain  ;)  the  admonition  had  left  the  parties 
still  in  regular  standing.  The  Council  in  proceeding  to 
organize,  and  censure  the  Church,  went  beyond  their  prov- 
ince, and  were  guilty  of  a  gross  usurpation,  as  well  as 
impertinence.  It  was  alleged  that  the  Church  had  violated 
C!ongregational  order — which  may  have  been  the  case  ;  but 
that  gave  the  neighboring  Churches  no  right  to  interfere, 
unless  the  case  was  so  marked  as  to  have  justly  required 
withdrawal  of  fellowship  from  that  Church.  The  dissatis- 
fied members  could  take  letters;  if  these  were  denied,  they 
could  then  have  asked  for  a  Council — on  that  point.  If  the 
action  of  a  Church  stops  witiiin  itself;  that  is,  if  the  effect 
of  it  does  not  impair  the  regular  standing  of  the  aggrieved, 
the  latter  have  no  claim  for  a  Council,  nor  has  any  Council 
a  right  to  interfere." 

"The  principle  then  is,  'neighbor  Churches'  have  a  right 
to  expect  to  be  called  together  on  all  matters  relating 
to  the  general  welfare;  they  have  a  right  to  act  when  a 
party  invites  them  who  is  aggrieved  by  Church  action  in 

SUCH     A     MANNER     AS     DESTROYS     HIS     FELLOWSHIP   WITH 

THOSE  OTHER  CHURCHES;  aud  they  may  convene  when 
invited  by  any  Church  which  wants  "light  and  peace." 
]?ut  they  have  no  right  to  demand  a  voice  in  the  internal 
affairs  of  any  Cimrch,  and  no  power  whatever  to  supervise 
tliem.  They  control  the  fellowship  of  the  Churches,  but 
not  the  action  of  any  Church  in  its  own  matters.  The 
remembrance  of  this  simple  principle  would  sweep  away 
half  our  Councils,  and  all  of  tliose  which  have  become  an 
offense  in  tiie  nostrils  of  the  community.  luvited  Churches 
ought  never  to  accept  an  invitation  to  lnterfere  with 

THE    BUSINESS    OF    A    ChURCH    WHICH    DOES   NOT   CONCERN 

THEM.  We  have  never  yet  seen  more  than  one  Ex-parte 
Council  which  was  not  an  impertinence." 

II.   PREROGATIVES    OF    A    COUxNCIL    IN    BlilNG. 

"  The  Council  will  find  not  only  its  character  in  the 
letters  missive,  but  the  Council  is  limited  in  its  action 
to  the  subject  matter  of  the  letters  missive." 


160  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

"  The  object  alleged  in  the  letters  missive,  is  the  sole  one 
which  the  Council  is  competent  to  consider.  The  reason 
is  obvious.  Deriving  all  power  in  this  particular  case  from 
the  letters  missive,  they  can  no  more  go  beyond,  than  the 
government  of  our  country  can  exercise  powers  not  dele- 
gated to  it  by  the  Constitution.  Nor  would  it  be  proper, 
on  the  one  hand,  that  delegates  asked  for  a  special  purpose, 
should  act  for  another ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  that  an 
inviting  party  having  secured  a  Council,  should  use  it  for 
purposes  not  previously  mentioned,  ('ailed  together  for 
one  thing,  they  have  no  right  to  do  another. 

"  We  are  aware  that  this  rule  is  frequently  transgressed. 
Many  Councils  have  seemed  to  regard  themselves  irrespon- 
sible, and  as  being  put  in  charge  of  the  Churches  at  large. 
It  seems  to  be  felt  by  some  men  "  dressed  in  a  little  brief 
authority,"  that  under  the  high  sounding  title  of  Council 
they  are  endowed  with  great  prerogatives.  Whereas  they 
are  like  courts  martial  in  respect  to  their  object ;  limited  to 
the  precise  work  for  which  they  are  summoned.  For  exam- 
ple: a  Council  is  called  for  organizing  a  new  Church,  for 
the  alleged  reason  that  great  want  of  harmony  exists  in 
another  in  the  san)e  town ;  it  is  then  perfectly  competent 
for  the  Council  to  inquire  as  to  the  alleged  dissensions,  and 
whether  they  are  such  as  to  furnish  good  reasons  for  advis- 
ing a  new  organization,  and  whether  they  are  irremovable ; 
but  they  have  no  right  to  proceed  to  an  investigation  into 
the  merits  or  demerits  of  the  dissensions, — because  the 
parties  are  not  before  them  ;  and  if  they  were,  the  case  is 
not." 

"Having  carefully  and  prayerfully  examined  into  the 
subject  matter,  the  Council  luive  power  to  embody  its  opin- 
ion u\nm  tiiat  matter,  and  no  otiihk,  in  a  'result  of  Coun- 
cil,' which  is  to  he  signed  by  the  IMinlerator  and  Scribe,  and 
be  formally  communicated  tt)  the  parties  concerned." 

"  The  Congregational  doctrine  of  the  authority  of  Coun- 
cils therefore  is  this  :  Councils  come  into  being  by  the  call 
of  parties  inviting.  They  have  power  to  organize  ;  power 
to  examine  credentials  ;  with  no  power  to  enlarge  or  dimin- 
ish their  number;  power  to  examine  the  subject  specified 
in  the  lei lers  missive,  but  no  other  subject;   power  to  hear 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  161 

evidence  j  power  to  deliberate  on  the  proper  course  to  be 
taken  in  reference  to  that  subject;  power  to  advise  the 
parties  inviting  them,  what  to  do  in  the  matter,  with  no 
power  to  direct  or  order  any  particular  course,  or  to  reverse 
individual  Church  action ;    and,  with  power  to  pray  a 

GOOD    DEAL    AIORE    FOR    DiVINE    ASSISTANCE    THAN    MANY 

Councils  do,  they  have  power  to  dissolve." 

"Their  only  power  is  reason.  So  far  as  they  have  any 
authority,  it  is  through  their  piety,  their  integrity,  their 
manliness  and  their  common  sense.  For,  '  the  decree  of  a 
Council,'  well  says  Richard  Mather,  'hath  so  much  force  as 
there  is  force  in  the  reason  of  it.'  " 

Alas  !  then,  for  the  force  of  the  decree  of  the  Council 
recently  held  in  reference  to  the  aflfairs  of  the  South  Church 
in  New  Haven. 

A  Member. 


MISSTATEMENT   OF    FACTS 

In  the  Defense  of  the  South  Church. 

That  the  public  may  learn  what  reliance  is  to  be  placed 
upon  the  statement  of  facts  by  the  defenders  of  the  South 
Church  and  of  their  officiating  Pastor,  I  would  draw  atten- 
tion to  the  assertions  of  the  communication  from  "A  Mem- 
ber," in  respect  to  the  voting  of  females,  in  the  Chapel 
street  Church  when  the  present  Pastor  was  called  ;  and  in 
the  North  Church,  when  a  resolution  of  confidence  in  the 
Rev.   Dr.  Dutton   was   passed.     In    neither    of    these 

CASES  WAS   there    A  VOTE    CAST    BY  A    FEMALE,  NOR  WAS 
THERE    ONE    PRESENT. 

When  Mr.  Eustis  had  received  a  call  from  the  brother- 
hood of  tlie  Church,  and  from  the  Society,  he  preached  to 
the  congregation,  and  at  his  request,  after  a  Tuesday  eve- 
ning lecture,  there  was  an  informal  expression,  by  those 
present,  of  their  desire  in  respect  to  his  acceptance  of  the 
call,  which  had  already  been  tendered.  At  that  meeting 
the  proposition  was  made,  not  as  the  blundering  informant 
of  the  writer  states,  by  Deacon  W.,  who  was  not  Deacon 
uutil  ten  years  afterward  but  by  an  opponent  of  the  Pas- 
U 


162  THE    EX-Px\RTE    COUNCIL. 

tor  elect,  that  the  ladies  should  express  their  wishes.  This 
was  consented  to ;  and  this  informal  expression  of  opinion, 
though  of  course  never  put  upon  record,  was  reported  to 
Mr.  Eustis. 

Dr.  Dutton  has  no  recollection  of  writing  any  such  letter 
as  the  writer  professes  to  quote  from.  If  any  such  letter 
exists,  he  would  like  to  see  it,  for  he  is  confident  that  the 
extract  quoted  does  injustice  to  his  sentiments.  If  he 
made  any  such  statements  in  respect  to  the  Chapel  street 
Church,  they  were  founded  on  a  mistake ;  and  he  knows 
that  the  allegation  that  women  have  ever  voted  in  the  North 
Church  is  utterly  untrue. 

The  South  Church  has,  therefore,  among  Congregational 
Churches  in  this  city,  the  peculiar  claim  to  the  title  of  a 
"Woman's  Rights"  Church,  and  deserves  by  this  radical- 
ism to  be  ranked  with  tlie  Church  in  New  York  City,  over 
which  Dr.  Cheever  presides. 

One  word  in  addition.  Those  who  read  the  result  of  the 
late  Council,  will  remember  that  it  was  in  three  parts ;  first, 
a  statement  of  facts ;  secondly,  a  declaration  of  principles 
in  the  Congregational  Order;  and  thirdly,  advice  to  the 
parties  calling  the  Council. 

The  voluminous  replies  have  not  denied  one  of  the 
FACTS — not  even  so  much  as  to  show,  what  a  word  of  his 
might  have  done,  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  believes 

THAT   THIS  REBELLION  IN  BEHALF  OF  SLAVERY  IS  WICKED. 

The  APOLOGISTS  have  avowed  that  the  South  Church  is 
not  governed  by  the  i)rinciples  aflfirmed  in  the  Result,  which 
is  precisely  what  the  Council  adjudged.  They  therefore 
cannot  demur  at  being  declared  not  a  Congregational 
Church,  but  an  independent  Church,  outside  of  our 
order;  although  to  obtain  a  respectable  standing,  they 
procured  at  the  start,  recognition  by  a  Council ;  intending, 
as  it  would  appear,  to  break  their  |)ledge  of  walking  in  the 
Congregational  order,  so  soon  as  it  might  seem  convenient. 

Whenever  they  deny  the  facts  affirmed  in  the  result, 
with  proper  evidence ;  or  avow  the  principles  of  Congre- 
gationalism, as  set  forth  in  our  standards,  and  authorized 
by  the  Scriptures,  they  will  be  entitled  to  a  respectful 
hearing. 

A  Member  of  the  Ex-parte  Coitncil. 


THE    EX-PAllTK    COUNCIL,  163 

REV.  DR.  DUTTON'S  LETTER  ON  FEMALE  VO- 
TING. 
Messrs.  Editors: 

In  a  communication  which  you  published  last  Wednes- 
day, "A  Member  of  the  Ex-parte  Council"  said,  in  i-efer- 
ence  to  Dr.  Dutton's  letter  of  1856,  from  which  I  had  pre- 
viously quoted,  "Dr.  Dutton  has  no  recollection  of  writing 
any  such  letter  as  the  writer  [myself]  professes  to  quote 
from.  If  any  such  letter  exists,  he  would  like  to  see  it ; 
for  he  is  confident  that  the  extract  quoted  does  injustice  to 
his  sentiments."  Others  besides  himself  "  would  like  to  see 
it,"  and  I  am  happy  in  being  able  to  gratify  both  him  and 
them,  as  well  as  to  relieve  the  incredulity  of  "A  Member 
of  the  Ex-parte  Council,"  who  pretty  clearly  intimates  that 
in  '' prof  casing  to  quote  from  "  such  a  letter,  I  was  hum- 
bugging the  public.  I  now  publish  it  entire,  except  the 
postscri])t,  which  relates  to  other  matters.  If  Dr.  Dutton 
still  doubts  the  existence  of  "  any  such  letter,"  he  can  see 
the  original,  in  his  own  hand-writing,  by  calling  at  No.  240 
State  street,  main  floor.     The  following  is  a  copy  of  it : 

"Nkw  Haven,   May  3,  1856. 

"Dear  Brother:  I  received  yours  this  afternoon,  and 
reply  at  once. 

"I  suppose  it  is  not  i\\Q general cwsiom  in  ourN. E.  Con- 
gregational Churches,  for  females  to  vote  in  Church  meet- 
ings, either  for  officers,  or  on  other  occasions,  yet  it  is 
sometimes  done.  The  Chapel-street  Church,  in  one  instance 
of  electing  Pastor,  received  the  votes  of  female  members, 
and  also  have  done  the  same  in  the  election  of  deacons. 
The  Congregational  Church  in  Milbury  has  in  some  instan- 
ces had  voting  by  females. 

"  I  believe  among  the  Baptist  Churches,  (which  are 
strictly  congregational,)  the  female  members  generally 
vote. 

"  I  have  not  the  '  Practical  Church  ]\Iember '  at  hand, 
but  I  have  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Mitchell  (who  is  quite  a  con- 
servative man,)  would  say  that  the  brotherhood  (the  male 
members,)  should  do  the  voting,  and  that  that  is  the  mean- 
ing of  the  passage  to  which  you  refer 


164  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

"  From  the  nature  of  a  Church,  as  composed  of  renewed 
persons,  and  as  having  power  of  sell-government,  I  do  not 
think  any  argument  can  be  drawn  against  the  voting  of 
females,  but  rather  the  contrary,  for  they  are  members  of 
the  Church.  The  argument,  i.  e.,  against  female  voting,  is 
from  the  general  customs  of  society,  founded  as  those  cus- 
toms are  supposed. and  claimed  to  be,  on  the  differing 
natures  of  males  and  females.  The  argument  is,  that  the 
custom  of  non-voting  and  non-speaking  in  public  by  fe- 
males, which  prevails  outside  of  the  Church,  should  pre- 
vail in  the  Church. 

"  To  my  mind  the  argument  is  not  very  strong.  And,  as 
custom  is  not  universally  against  female  voting,  if  I  was 
pastor  of  a  Church  in  which  females  had  been  accustomed 
to  vote,  I  should  not  endeavor  to  break  it  up,  unless  there 
was  a  general  disposition  to  dispense  with  it.  I  should 
not  make  a  contest  agaiiist  it. 

"  Yours  truly  and  in  haste, 

S.  W.  S.  BUTTON." 

What  Dr.  Dutton  in  1856  said  he  would  do  in  a  sup- 
posed case.  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  has  done.  When  the  latter 
took  charge  of  the  South  Church,  1st  June,  1862,  he  found 
that  "  females  had  been  accustomed  to  vote  "  there,  and 
did  "not  endeavor  to  break  it  [the  practice]  up," — ^there 
not  being  "  a  general  disposition  to  dispense  with  it."  Yet 
for  taking  exactly  the  course  which  Dr.  Dutton  said  he 
would  take  in  similar  circumstances, — for  this  among  other 
things,  —  the  latter  assists  in  excluding  Mr.  Carroll  and 
his  Church  from  fellowship  with  other  Congregational 
Churches, 

Another  curiosity  is  revealed  in  this  letter,  viz  :  the  basis 
of  "  the  argument  against  female  voting."  The  Ex-parto 
Council  objected  to  such  voting  as  contrary  to  the  Scrip- 
tures and  Congregational  usage.  The  petitioners,  in  their 
Rejoinder,  drop  the  Scripture  argument,  and  mention  only 
'•  the  custom  of  Congregational  Churches."  But  Dr.  Dut- 
ton, in  the  above  letter,  mentions  neither  of  these  bases, 
but  only  "the  general  customs  of  society,"  "outside  of  the 
Church"     For  not  conforming  to  the  world  in  this  particu- 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL,  165 

lar, — for  this,  among  other  things, — he  assists  in  cutting  off 
the  South  Church  from  its  fellowship  with  other  Congrega- 
tional Churches.  Well  may  he  saj',  "  To  my  mind  the 
argument  is  not  very  strong ;  "  that  is,  the  argument  from 
the  general  customs  of  society. 

Dr.  1).  well  remarks,  that  against  female  voting  no  argu- 
ment can  be  drawn  "  from  the  nature  of  a  Chicrch,  as  com- 
posed of  renewed  persons,  and  as  having  the  power  of  self- 
government,"  "but  rather  the  contrary;  for  they  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Church."  Yes ;  they  are  members  of  the 
Church,  as  much  as  men  are ;  and  therefore  have  a  right  to 
all  the  privileges  of  members, — subject  of  course  to  any 
restrictions  contained  in  the  Scriptures ;  but  voting  is  not 
one  of  them. 

Dr.  D.  gives  us  some  further  information  as  to  the  prev- 
alence of  female  voting.  Besides  the  Chapel-street  Church 
in  some  instances,  he  mentions  another  Congregational 
Church,  where,  in  1856,  such  voting  was  sometimes  prac- 
ticed; and  expresses  his  belief  that  "among  the  Baptist 
Churches,  (which  are  strictly  congregational,)  the  female 
members  generally  vote."  We  were  aware  that  in  Pres- 
byterian Churches  voting  by  females  was  not  unusual,  but 
were  not  so  well  informed  concerning  the  Baptists.  As  the 
Methodists  allow  females  to  pray  and  exhort  in  their  meet- 
ings, voting  by  females  would  follow  as  a  matter  of  course.- 
One  would  think  that  a  custom  so  extensively  prevalent  in 
Christian  Churches  of  different  denominalions,  might  be 
tolerated  in  the  South  Cliurch  by  other  Churches  of  the 
same  order ;  or  at  least,  not  be  made  a  basis  of  excommuni- 
cation. And  here  allow  me  to  copy  a  paragraph  of  a  letter 
from  the  gentlemen  to  whom  the  above  letter  of  Dr.  Dut- 
ton's  was  addressed;  dated  Jan.  27,  1864  : 

"  At  the  time  of  Rev.  Mr.  Eustis's  call  to  the  Chapel- 
street  Church,  I  remember  being  present  at  a  week-day 
evening  religious  ineeting  in  the  Lecture  Room  of  the 
Church  edifice,  when,  at  the  close  of  said  meeting,  Dea. 
Whittlesey  (now  Deacon,*)  did  then  and  there  rise,  before 

*  Noi'E  DV  A  Member  of  South  Church.  —  "A  Member  of  the 
Ex-parte  Council"  makes  a  great  ado  because  our  •■blundering  iutorni- 

14* 


166  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL, 

any  one  else,  and  propose,  in  a  neat  little  speech,  informal 
action  by  way  of  cleteiTnining  how  many  then  present 
would  like  Mr.  Eustis  for  Pastor.  Suffice  it  to  say,  all 
present  felt  at  perfect  liberty  to  vote,  and  all  who  chose, 
did  vote  on  the  occasion."* 

"A  Member  of  the  Ex-parte  Council  "  is  pleased  to  say 
that  the  voluminous  replies  to  the  Result  of  said  Council 
"have  not  denied  ome  of  the  facts."  That  is  true: 
the  South  Church  people  never  deny  facts.  Noah  Web- 
ster says,  "  To  deny  a  fact  l^nowingly,  is  to  lie."  [See  the 
word  "  fact "  in  quarto  editions.]  But  the  South  Church 
people  have  denied  or  disproved  many  of  the  statements  of 
the  Council  and  of  the  petitioners,  either  in  terms  or  in 
effect.  In  short,  if  ever  the  under-pinning  was  effectually 
knocked  out  from  beneath  an  imposing  structure,  it  has 
been  done  in  the  present  instance. 

A  Member  of  South  Church. 


The  above  are  the  principal  documents  which  have 
heretofore  been  published  in  relation  to  the  Ex-parte 
Council.  And  now  the  question  may  be  asked,  espe- 
cially by  persons  at  a  distance,  "  What,  after  a  year's 
experience,  has  been  the  effect  of  the  action  of  that 

ant,"  as  he  calls  him,  gives  Deacon  Whittlesey  his  present  title.  Why- 
should  he  not?  He  was  writing  in  18G4  of  an  event  which  took  place 
some  years  previously.  So  likewise  lie  gives  Dr.  Dutton  his  present 
title,  although  lie  might  not  have  received  it  prior  to  1856.  If  our 
informant  had  said  Mr.  Whittlesey  and  Mr.  Dutton,  the  same  lacility 
of  censure  which  in  one  case  calls  him  a  "blundering  informant," 
would  most  likely  have  been  offended  by  his  rudeness. 

*  This  statement,  taken  in  connection  with  a  paragraph  quoted  in 
ray  last  from  "  A  Member  of  the  Ex-parte  Council,"  together  with  my 
comments  thereon,  sets  the  matter  of  female  voting  in  the  Chapel- 
street  Church,  on  the  occasion  alluded  to,  in  a  clear  light. 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  167 

body  upon  the  South  Church,  and  upon  other  inter- 
ests ?  "     We  answer : 

1 .  It  has  freed  the  South  Church  from  all  disturb- 
ing elements,  leaving  it  united  and  harmonious  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  its  common  welfare  as  a  Church 
of  Christ. 

2.  By  so  doing,  it  has  provided  a  pleasant  religious 
home  for  many  families  heretofore  connected  with 
Churches  represented  in  the  Council,  (as  well  as  oth- 
ers,) who  had  long  been  deprived  of  the  privileges  of 
the  sanctuary,  except  on  the  condition  of  exposing 
themselves  to  an  installment  of  politics  or  war,  along 
with  or  in  place  of,  what  they  came  to  hear. 

3.  While  the  action  of  the  Council  has  doubtless 
prevented  some  members  of  sister  Churches  from 
joining  us,  by  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  they  could 
not  obtain  certificates  of  dismission  for  that  purpose, 
others  have  come  to  us  notwithstanding  that  impedi- 
ment ;  offering  themselves  for  examination  by  our 
Standing  Committee,  as  in  the  case  of  new  members, 
and  thus  being  admitted  on  profession  of  their  faith. 
In  a  few  cases  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  individ- 
uals have  joined  us  because,  as  they  said,  they  did 
not  wish  to  belong  to  Churches  which  denied  to  a 
sister  Church,  as  good  as  themselves,  the  common 
courtesies  of  Christian  recognition  and  fellowship. 
The  whole  number  admitted  to  the  South  Church 
during  the  calendar  year  1864,  which  covers  the 
period  since  the  action  of  the  Council,  is  25. 

4.  In  some  cases  the  action  of  Council  has  pre- 


168  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

vented  members  of  the  South  Church  from  joining 
other  Churches,  One  case  in  particular  is  before  our 
minds,  where  an  exemplary  member  asked  and  re- 
ceived a  certificate  to  another  Congregational  Church, 
near  which  she  resides,  but  finding  she  could  not  be 
admitted  on  the  strength  of  that  certificate,  unless 
endorsed  by  the  Scribe  of  the  Council,  she  returned 
it  to  the  South  Church,  and  was  received  back  into 
our  fold  in  the  usual  way.     She  is  still  a  member. 

5.  The  action  of  the  Council  has  established  the 
independence  of  the  South  (church  beyond  dispute. 
This  position  it  intended  to  occuj)y  from  the  first. 
But  experience  has  taught  us  that  by  the  simple  act 
of  assisting  in  the  organization  of  our  Church,  as 
requested  by  its  first  members,  and  by  a  few  subse- 
quent acts  of  intervention  ivhen  invited  by  us,  the 
denomination  claims  to  have  got  us  within  its  meshes, 
insomuch  that  any  half  a  dozen  of  its  ministers,  by 
calling  themselves  a  Council,  can  regulate  our  affairs 
without  our  consent  and  against  our  remonstrances, 
even  to  the  extent  of  transferring  our  members  to 
other  Churches.  As  much  as  this  is  exemplified  in 
the  action  of  late  Ex-parte  Council.  The  South 
Church  repelled  the  interference,  and  thus  brought 
the  Council  to  an  acknowledgement  of  its  independ- 
ence, by  witlidiawing  fellowship  from  it,  and  advising 
other  Congregational  Churclios  to  do  tlio  same.  It  is 
now,  in  theory  at  least,  i.  e.,  in  their  theory,  further 
off  from  other  Congregational  Churches,  than  if  it 
were  a  Baptist,  Methodist,  or  an   Episcopal  Church. 


THE    EX-PAKTE    COUNCIL.  1G9 

To  Churches  of  either  of  these  denominations,  the 
Churches  rejjresented  in  the  Ex-i:)arte  Council  and 
others  of  the  same  class,  would  recommend  any  of 
their  members  who  wished  to  join  them, — but  not  to 
the  South  Congregational  Church.  Their  ministers, 
too,  would  on  fit  occasions  exchange  pulpits  with 
ministers  of  either  of  those  denominations, — hut  not 
with  the  minister  of  the  South  Congregational  Church. 

6.  The  action  of  the  Council,  so  far  from  establish- 
ing a  non-intercourse  between  the  South  Church  and 
the  members  of  other  Congregational  Churches,  has 
had  exactly  the  opposite  effect.  We  do  not  now  refer 
to  the  numerous  families,  recently  belonging  to  other 
congregations,  who  have  taken  slips  in  the  South 
Church,  but  to  the  many  visitors,  from  all  the  other 
Churches,  who  come  occasionally,  and  some  of  them 
frequently,  (and  they  are  always  welcome,)  to  hear 
the  proscribed  minister.  If  they  could  hear  him 
sometimes  in  their  own  Churches,  it  might  satisfy 
their  curiosity,  or  whatever  motive  impels  them  to 
hear  him  ;  but  as  they  can  not,  their  only  alternative 
is,  to  go  and  hear  him  in  his  own  Church,  where  they 
are  pretty  sure  to  find  him,  and  not  some  stranger,  in 
the  pulpit. 

7.  The  action  of  the  Council,  by  placing  us  outside 
of  the  pale  of  Congregational  Churches,  has  placed 
us  within  easy  communication  with  Churches  of  other 
evangelical  denominations.  Accordingly,  many  per- 
sons from  all  those  denominations  are  frequently  found 
in  our  audiences,  and  feel  themselves  all  the  more  at 


170  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

home  because  they  are  in  no  other  fold  but  Christ's. 
They  know  that  the  South  Church  can  have  no 
denominational  ends  to  answer, — no  ambition  to  grat- 
ify except  in  doing  good,  —  that  it  welcomes  with 
equal  cordiality  good  men  and  women  of  whatever 
Christian  name, — and  that  they  are  safe  there  from 
the  agitations  and  storms  which  beset  most  other 
Christian  organizations.  We  speak  of  the  South 
Church  as  it  now  is,  and  not  as  it  was  before  the 
action  of  the  Ex-parte  Council. 

8.  The  aggregate  effect  of  all  these  influences  is,  to 
place  the  South  Church  on  a  far  more  substantial 
basis  than  ever  before  ;  to  enlarge  its  congregations  ; 
to  increase  its  revenue  ;  to  bind  its  members  together 
in  strong  bonds  of  Christian  fellowship  ;  in  short,  to 
make  them  an  eminently  united  and  happy  people, 
whose  God  is  the  Lord.  If  these  things  are  so,  it  is 
plain  that  whoever  else  may  liave  cause  to  regret  the 
action  of  the  Council,  the  South  Church  has  none. 

9.  Even  if  the  Council  could  build  a  Chinese  wall 
between  their  own  Churches  and  the  South  Church, 
the  latter  would  still  have  scope  enough  in  the 
"  wide,  wide  world,''  from  which  to  obtain  recruits  to 
its  ranks,  and  all  the  better  for  being  compelled  to 
obtain  them,  to  a  large  extent,  from  the  enemy's 
kingdom,  rather  than  from  other  Churches,  A  change 
of  members  from  one  Church  to  another  is  rarely  of 
any  great  advantage  to  the  cause  of  Christ ;  but  when 
converts  are  gained  from  the  ranks  of  sin,  and  become 
shining  lights,  that  is  a  change  wliich  makes  angels 


THE    EX-PARTE   COUNCIL.  171 

rejoice.  Well,  this  field  of  the  world  is  still  open  to 
the  South  Church,  and  is  likely  to  continue  so. 
There  is  no  repulsion  here,  except  from  Satan  and  his 
emissaries,  but  the  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say  come, 
and  whosoever  will,  let  him  come. 

10.  We  are  not  aware  that  the  action  of  the  Coun- 
cil has  conferred  any  real  benefit  upon  those  who 
invoked  its  aid.  It  has  separated  them  from  their 
pleasant  religious  home,  where  they  had  their  full 
share  of  influence  and  of  privilege,  as  well  as  abun- 
dant opportunities  of  usefulness, — ivitJiout  providing 
them  with  any  other.  They  are  now  scattered  into 
different  Churches,  mostly  at  inconvenient  distances 
from  their  residences.  If  this  was  what  they  wanted, 
they  had  only  to  ask  letters  of  dismission  and  recom- 
mendation, in  order  to  secure  the  accomplishment  of 
their  wishes.  But  many  of  them  preferred  to  go 
without  leave, — thus  unnecessarily  disregarding  our 
Standing  Rules,  to  which  they  w^ere  voluntary  parties. 
The  consequence  was,  that,  with  the  help  of  the 
Scribe  of  the  Ex-parte  Council,  they  were  nominally 
members  of  tivo  Churches  at  the  same  time,  for  a 
period  of  about  three  months.  At  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  South  Church,  ifov.  22,  1864,  they  were 
all  taken  at  their  word,  or  rather,  at  their  act,  (ex- 
cept one  or  two  who  had  been  transferred  by  the 
Scribe  of  the  Ex-parte  Council,  contrary  to  their 
own  wishes,)  and  dismissed,  f7'om  that  date,  "in  the 
same  sense  as  if  they  had  asked  and  received  from  us 
letters  of  dismission  and  recommendation  in  the  usual 


172  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

form."  [For  particulars,  see  Catalogue  at  the  close  of 
tills  volume.]  There  was  an  effort  to  raise  money  and 
build  a  Church  for  the  seceders,  but  it  appears  to 
have  fallen  through.  The  following  are  the  proceed- 
ings of  a  meeting  held  on  the  26th  January,  a  year 
ago,  "  by  the  advice  of  the  Pastors  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Churches  of  the  city."         • 

CIRCULAR. 

At  a  meeting  of  gentlemen,  convened  by  the  advice  of 
the  Pastors  of  the  Congregational  Churches  in  this  city,  at 
the  Lecture  Room  of  Dr.  Cleaveland's  Church,  on  Tuesday 
evening,  Jan.  26,  1864,  Thomas  R.  Trowbridge,  Esq.,  in 
the  Chair,  and  Edwin  Marble,  P]sq.,  Secretary,  a  statement 
was  made  l)y  Uea.  E.  S.  Minor  with  regard  to  the  need  of 
a  new  Congregational  Church  edifice  in  the  south  part  of 
the  city.  He  stated  that  about  fortij  families  and  some 
seventy  Church  members  are  desirous,  as  soon  as  a  place  of 
worship  is  provided,  to  unite  in  the  organization  of  a  new 
Church  and  a  Sabbath  School.  He  had  received,  already, 
pledges  from  persons  in  that  vicinity  of  more  than  $1,000, 
as  their  annual  contribution  for  supporting  public  worship, 
and  he  believed  if  a  Cliurcli  was  provided,  that  tliey  would 
be  able  to  maintain  Christian  worship  and  a  Sabbath 
School,  without  further  extraneous  aid.  A  place  of  wor- 
ship is  needed  that  will  seat  al)out  four  hundred  persons, 
witli  a  room  for  smaller  meetings,  (as  Sabbath  School, 
prayer  meetings,  and  for  a  Ladies'  Society.)  It  is  estima- 
ted that  $12,000  will  be"  wanted  to  provide  land  and  a 
building  suitable  for  these  objects. 

Remarks  were  oflfered  by  various  gentlemen  present,  and 
a  resolution  adopted  approving  of  the  object.  A  commit- 
tee was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  gentlemen  represent- 
ing this  enterprise,  and  to  advise  and  aid  them  in  the 
accomplishment  of  their  plans.  The  said  committe  having 
met  with  these  gentlemen,  and  having  made  inquiry  with 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  173 

regard  to  the  parties  thej'  represented,  as  to  their  character 
and  their  ability  to  sustain  and  carry  forward  the  enter- 
prise, adopted  the  following 

MINUTE. 

The  committee  to  whom  was  refeiTcd  the  matter  of 
advising  with  regard  to  the  enterprise  of  forming  a  new 
Congregational  Church  in  the  south  part  of  the  city,  hav- 
ing conferred  with  the  gentlemen  representing  this  enter- 
prise, are  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  deserving  of  public 
encouragement,  and  that  the  estimated  outlay  of  $12,000 
is  a  suitable  sum  to  be  invested  for  an  eligible  lot  and 
house  of  worship  for  their  purposes. 

The  committee  recommend  that  subscriptions  for  the 
aforesaid  object  be  made  to  trustees,  under  whose  direction 
the  lot  shall  be  purchased,  and  the  house  built,  and  in  whom 
the  property  shall  be  vested  for  a  term  of  ten  years,  when, 
if  the  enterprise  has  proved  successful,  it  shall  be  made 
over  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Society  then  existing. 

They  further  recommend  that  the  condition  of  these  sub- 
scriptions shall  be,  that  the  property,  when  obtained,  shall 
be  secured,  so  as  to  remain  free  from  all  inczimbrance  for 
the  use  of  a  Church  and  Soeiety  in  full  and  regular  felloic- 
sJiip  toith  the  Congregational  Clmrclies  of  Connecticut;  and 
if,  by  any  reason,  this  enterprise  fail  of  its  object,  the  trus- 
tees of  this  property  shall  be  authorized  and  required  to 
sell  the  same,  and  use  the  proceeds  for  the  purpose  of  reli- 
gious missions  in  this  city,  in  connection  with  the  Congre- 
gational order. 

The  committee  further  recommend  that  payment  of  these 
subscriptions  be  made  at  the  call  of  the  trustees,  and  in 
such  installments  as  they  may  consider  desii-able. 

(Signed)     THOMAS  R.  TROWBRIDGE, ") 

EDWIN  MARBLE,  \   ^ 

ALFRED  WAf.KER,  f  Committee. 

SIDNEY  M.  STONE,  j 

N.  B. — The  following  gentlemen  have  (by  request)  con- 
15 


174  THE    EX-Px\.RTE    COUNCIL. 

sented  to  act  as  trustees  of  the  funds  subscribed  for  the 
above  mentioned  object,  viz  : 

Alfred  Walker,  Esq. 

Edwin  Marble,  Esq. 

Morris  Tyler,  Esq. 

Matthew  G.  Elliott,  Esq. 

On  the  lltli  of  February,  1864,  a  gentleman  of  the 
above  named  Committee  inquired  of  the  principal 
proprietor  of  the  South  Church  property,  whether  it 
could  be  bought.  The  answer  was  in  the  negative. 
The  next  day,  to  guard  against  misconception  or  mis- 
construction, the  following  ivritten  reply  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  gentleman  proposing  the  inquiry  : 

New  Haven,  Feb.  12,  1864. 
Dear  Sir:  Your  inquiry  yesterday  in  regard  to  the 
South  Church  property  was  so  unexpected  that  I  scarcely 
knew  how  to  answer,  except  by  a  plain  negative.  Permit 
me  now  to  say  that  it  is  about  the  last  thing  I  should  think 
of  selling — especially  at  this  time,  when  all  our  incumbran- 
ces are  removed,  and  when  our  prospects  of  great  useful- 
ness and  success  are  more  cheering  than  ever  before.  I 
might  be  willing  to  exchange,  on  fair  terms,  for  the  North 
or  Center  Church, — as  a  very  considerable  percentage  of 
our  immense  congregations  on  Sabbath  afternoons  and 
evenings,  come  from  the  central  parts  of  the  city,  or 
beyond— but  this,  I  suppose,  would  not  answer  your  pur- 
pose. On  the  whole,  I  think  the  South  Church  people  and 
those  of  the  North  and  Center  Churches,  will  be  best 
accommodated  by  a  conservative  policy — each  retaining 
their  own,  and  exercising  toward  each  other  as  much  char- 
ity as  is  consistent  with  poor  human  nature,  even  when 
partially  sanctified.  No  more  excommunications,  if  you 
please. 

Truly  yours, 

GERARD  HALLOCK. 


THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  175 

On  the  24th  of  the  same  month,  a  copy  of  the  Cir- 
cular was  addressed  to  the  present  writer  by  the  Col- 
lecting Agent,  accompanied  with  a  courteous  note, 
inviting  him  to  head  the  subscription  list  ;  an  honor 
which  he  felt  obliged  to  decline.  The  following  is  his 
reply : 

New  Haven,  Feb.  27,  1864. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir: 

Your  favor  of  the  24th  inst.  is  at  hand,  inviting  me  to 
head  the  subscription  for  building  a  new  Congregational 
Church  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  city,  "  say  with 
$1,000  or  $2,000,  or  whatever  sum  may  seem  right "  to 
me.  While  I  sincerely  desire  that  the  secessionists  from 
the  South  Church  may  be  provided  with  a  suitable  place  of 
worship  elsewhere,  and  thus  have  no  excuse  for  returning 
to  the  fold  from  which  they  have  voluntarily  strayed,  I 
doubt  the  expediency  of  placing  in  the  van  of  the  move- 
ment a  member  of  an  excommunicated  Church, — excom- 
municated too  by  the  same  Ex-parte  Council  which  recom- 
mended the  establishment  of  this  opposition  line.  Would 
not  an  enterprise  so  led,  "  be  justly  regarded  with  suspi- 
cion," and  perhaps  be  viewed  as  merely  another  "land 
speculation?"  It  strikes  me  that  it  would  be  better  for 
the  members  of  the  wealthy  old  Churches  represented  in 
said  Council,  to  put  their  shouldei's  to  the  wheel,  and  see 
what  they  can  accomplish.  Should  it  prove  too  much  for 
them,  and  should  I  have  any  thing  to  spare  after  seeing  the 
South  Church  established  on  a  permanent,  self-supporting 
basis,  I  can  then,  if  I  find  no  better  use  for  the  money, 
take  hold  and  help. 

In  the  meantime,  I  am 

Very  truly  yours, 

GERARD  HALLOCK. 

We  have  heard  but  little  said   about  the  project 
recently,  and  are  inclined  to  think  it  has  been  aban- 


176  THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL. 

doned,  at  least  for  tlie  present.  If,  however,  it  should 
be  carried  into  effect,  it  would  have  no  perceptible 
bearing  upon  the  interests  of  the  South  Church  and 
people,  who  are  now  so  well  adjusted  on  the  principle 
of  elective  affinity,  that  no  antagonistic  establishment 
would  have  any  attractions  for  them.  In  order  to 
make  any  impression  upon  the  South  Church,  the 
leaders  of  the  new  movement  must  find  a  man  for  their 
pulpit,  not  only  of  equal  talents  with  Mr.  Carroll, 
and  equal  qualifications  in  other  respects,  but  of  sim- 
ilar 2^Tinciples  and  views  as  to  the  proper  sphere  of 
pulpit  ministrations.  If  they  could  induce  Mr.  Car- 
roll himself  to  take  the  lead  of  their  enterprise,  and 
occupy  their  pulpit  instead  of  that  which  he  now  fills 
so  acceptably  to  his  people,  then  indeed  they  might 
safely  count  upon  a  respectable  stampede  from  the 
South  Church,  especially  if  the  latter  should  supply 
his  place  with  a  minister  of  opposing  views.  But 
none  of  these  contingencies  are  likely  to  happen  at 
present. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

New  Year's  Greetings,  January,  1864. — While 
the  discussion  about  the  Ex-par te  Council  was  going 
forward  in  tlie  newsjiapers,  as  recorded  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  the  South  Church  people,  desiring  to 
express  their  undiminished  confidence  in  their  minis- 
ters, presented  to  Mr.  Carroll  the  following  Address, 
signed  by  more  than  a  hundred  and  thirty  members 
of  his  Church  and  congregation,  together  with  a  New 
Year's  gift  of  five  hundred  dollars.  To  his  associate, 
Rev.  Myron  Barrett,  they  presented  a  variety  of  good 
things,  including  a  well  filled  purse,  accompanied  by 
an  appropriate  address  from  the  Senior  Deacon. 

To  THE  Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll  : 

Dear  Pastor, — The  undersigned  members  of  the  South 
Church  and  congregation  desire  to  give  you  some  token  of 
our  undiminished  confidence  in  your  fidelity  to  every  im- 
portant interest  which  falls  within  the  range  of  your  duties 
as  a  Christian  minister,  or  as  a  citizen  of  our  common 
country :  and  with  this  view  we  beg  your  acceptance  of  the 
enclosed  $500  as  a  New  Year's  Gift.'  Most  of  us,  you  are 
aware,  are  in  moderate  circumstances  pecuniarily, — other- 
wise we  would  make  the  sum  correspond  more  nearly  to 
the  proportions  of  our  affection  and  gratitude  to  our  beloved 
Pastor ;  for  such  you  are,  practically  and  in  eflFect,  and 
such  we  will  call  you,  even  though  masters  in  Isi*ael  should 
command  us  to  hold  our  peace.  Would  to  God  that  all 
15* 


178  MISCELLANEOUS. 

who  are  technically  Pastors, — as  you  formerly  were,  and 
might  be  now  if  such  had  been  your  choice, — were  as  faith- 
ful in  that  relation,  and  in  all  other  relations  pertaining  to 
the  Christian  ministry,  as  you  have  been  to  us.  Then 
might  they  be  as  successful  in  winning  souls  to  Christ, 
instead  of  occupying  themselves  with  denunciations  of 
yourself  and  us,  on  evidence  avowedly  ex-parte,  gathered 
from  a  few  disafiected  members  of  this  Church,  some  of 
whom  have  very  seldom  heard  you  preach  or  pray,  while 
others  are  so  deeply  imbued  witli  the  isms  of  the  day,  that 
without  an  admixture  of  these  ingredients,  they  cannot  be 
satisfied  with  the  preaching  of  the  word,  however  faithfully 
dispensed,  or  with  the  incense  of  a  pure  oflering,  however 
fervently  breathed  into  the  ear  of  God.  Did  the  venerable 
Doctors  of  Divinity  expect,  on  a  basis  such  as  this,  to  rear 
a  structure  which  would  stand  the  test  of  impartial  investi- 
gation by  those  who  knoiv  the  facts,  and  laiow  them  to 
differ  widely,  as  a  general  remark',  from  the  representations 
upon  which  the  verdict  of  the  Council  was  chiefly  founded  1 
Did  it  not  also  occur  to  their  minds,  that  possibly  an  intel- 
ligent community  might  deem  the  judges  and  jury  as  ob- 
jectionable as  the  witnesses?  T/ici/  too  were  ex-parte, 
selected  by  a  party,  and  many  of  them  so  prejudiced  against 
you,  as  from  the  day  of  your  coming  among  us  until  now, 
to  have  withheld  from  you  the  courtesies,  not  to  say  civil- 
ities, usual  among  ministerial  brethren,  and  even  among 
gentlemen  who  are  bound  together  by  none  but  earthly  ties. 
The  very  document  which  is  tlie  product  of  their  three 
days'  labor,  betrays  the  bitterness  of  local,  sectarian,  and 
party  animosity,  to  a  degree  which  pro])ably  they  were  not 
themselves  aware  of,  and  which,  to  im])artial  minds,  must 
afford  convincing  proof  that  a  verdict  from  such  a  source, 
based  upon  such  evidence,  without  a  particle  of  rebutting 
testimony,  or  any  plea  in  behalf  of  the  accused,  is  entitled 
to  no  consideration  in  any  quarter.  Least  of  all  will  it 
have  any  weight  with  us,  your  Church  and  people,  some  of 
whom  have  listened  to  all,  and  nn)st  of  us  to  nearly  all, 
your  pulpit  performances  since  you  first  entered  upon  your 
labors  as  minister  of  the  South  Church.  Wc  are  witnesses 
of  the  gross  injustice  of  the  imputations  attempted  to  bo 


MISCELLANEOUS.  179 

cast  upon  your  fidelity  to  the  Governmeut  under  which  we 
live.  On  nearly  if  not  quite  every  Sabbath  since  you  carne 
among  us,  you  have  prayed  for  our  country,  its  rulers,  its 
officers  and  soldiers,  the  sick  and  wounded,  the  dying  and 
bereaved ;  that  the  crushing  sorrows  which  rest  upon  us 
may  be  overruled  for  the  highest  good  of  our  whole  nation 
and  the  glory  of  God ;  and  that  in  His  own  time  and  way 
He  will  stay  the  torrents  of  blood  and  tears  which  are 
flowing  all  over  the  land,  and  grant  us  a  righteous  Peace. 
Undoubtedly  there  is  a  marked  difterence  between  the  tone 
of  your  prayers  on  these  topics  and  those  of  some  of  your 
ministerial  brethren,  (certainly  there  ought  to  be,  if  we 
know  anything  of  the  spirit  of  Christianity;)  but  we  never 
heard  a  word  from  your  lips  which,  by  any  fan*  construc- 
tion of  language,  could  be  made  to  imply  a  lack  of  real 
patriotism,  or  anything  inconsistent  with  a  faithful  alle- 
giance to  the  Government  of  your  country.  Whether  you 
approve  of  all  the  measures  of  the  Administration  or  not,  is 
another  question — with  which  neither  we  nor  your  accusers 
have  anything  to  do.  There  never  was  an  Administration 
all  of  whose  measures  were  approved  by  all  the  people, 
and  we  may  safely  say  there  never  will  be.  According  to 
the  proverb,  "  Silence  gives  consent."  But  in  your  case,  it 
is  construed  by  your  accusers  as  implying  ^?ssent.  They 
demand  that  you  shall  speak  on  these  topics.  If  3'ou  speak 
their  sentiments,  well  and  good.  If  the  opposite  sentiments, 
then  of  course  you  are  "disloyal."  If  you  are  silent,  you 
are  "disloyal."  A  hard  case  for  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
who  has  so  learned  Christ  that  he  deems  it  his  duty  to  keep 
politics  out  of  the  pulpit.  And  here,  w^e  suspect,  is  the 
front  of  your  oifending.  While  you  stand  up  in  this  pulpit 
fi'om  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  proclaiming  the  unadulterated 
truth  of  God  to  large  and  deeply  interested  audiences,  and 
reaping  from  time  to  time  tlie  appropriate  fruits  of  your 
labor,  "you  reproach  us,  also,"  some  of  the  learned  Doctors 
may  say,  and  say  it  truly.  But  we  thank  God  that  He  has 
sent  us  a  minister  who  will  not  and  cannot  be  made  to 
follow  their  example  in  this  particular.  Truly  you  have 
been  to  us  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and  not  a  political 
declaimer.     The  talents  which  God  has  given  you,  you 


180  MISCELLANEOUS. 

have  devoted  to  His  service.  We  have  seen  you  in  the 
conference  room,  the  prayer  meeting,  the  chamber  of  sick- 
ness, the  home  of  poverty,  and  the  house  of  mourning ; 
have  known  and  shared  your  faithful,  judicious,  unremit- 
ting labors  as  a  spiritual  counsellor  and  guide ;  have 
admired  the  meekness  with  which  you  bore  reproach  and 
all  manner  of  misrepresentation — when  reviled,  reviling 
not  again ;  in  short,  following  the  example  and  teachings 
of  your  blessed  Master,  in  this  the  most  difficult,  or  one  of 
the  most  difficult  parts  of  the  Christian  life. 

We  have  known  your  historj^ — the  honored  son  of  a  dis- 
tinguished father,  the  late  Rev.  D.  L.  Carroll,  D.D.,  whom 
several  of  us  loved  as  our  Pastor  when  settled  in  Litchfield, 
Conn.,  as  the  successor  of  Rev.  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher, — of 
your  graduating  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  before 
you  were  eighteen  years  of  age,  having  already  consecrated 
yourself  and  your  all  to  Christ;  of  your  graduating  at 
Princeton  Seminary,  where  you  received  your  theological 
education  ;  of  your  ordination  to  the  ministerial  office  and 
installation  as  Pastor  in  1855,  by  some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  your  great 
success  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  not  only  in  New  Jersey, 
where  you  were  first  settled  and  remained  until  excessive 
labors  broke  down  your  health,  but  wherever  else  you  have 
statedly  dispensed  the  Word  of  Life.  Even  in  this  South 
Church  of  New  Haven,  during  a  period  of  unusual  spiritual 
dearth  in  the  Churches  generally  throughout  the  land,  the 
blessing  of  God  has  attended  your  labors  and  those  of 
your  worthy  colleague,  to  a  degree  which  calls  for  our 
united  thanksgiving. 

Our  records  show  that  the  accessions  to  our  Church 
membership  within  the  past  year,  have  been  larger,  except 
two,  than  in  any  of  the  284  Churches  in  the  State.  Our 
congregations  on  the  Sabbath  and  Sabbath  evenings,  and 
also  on  week-day  evenings,  have  been,  and  still  are,  much 
larger  than  under  any  previous  ministry,  except  for  a  short 
period  during  the  incumbency  of  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles.  And 
this  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  individuals  within 
your  own  Church,  and  a  much  larger  number  out  of  it, 
culminating  at  last  in  the  convocation  and  fizzle  of  the  late 


MISCELLANEOUS.  181 

Ex-parte  Council.  Charity  leads  us  to  hope  that  much  of 
this  opposftion  is  the  result  of  ignorance  ;  although  igno- 
rance is  a  poor  excuse  when  the  means  of  obtaining  correct 
information  are  at  hand ;  and  prejudice  is  a  poor  excuse 
when  based  upon  ignorance  or  misinformation  which  might 
have  been  avoided ;  much  more  if  it  be  the  oflFspring  of 
sectarian  exclusiveness,  professional  rivalry,  party  animos- 
ity, or  an  unwillingness  to  entertain  strangers,  which  some 
doing,  have  entertained  angels  unawares. 

Among  the  conclusions  an'ived  at  by  the  Council,  this  is 
one,  viz  :  ",tJiat  the  South  Church,  so  called,  ought  to  be 
recognized  no  longer  as  a  Congregational  Church."  "  No 
longer."  They  admit,  then,  that  it  has  hitherto  been  a 
Congregational  Church.  One  of  two  things  follo'^^s  :  Either 
that  this  Ex-parte  Council,  representing  a  dozen  Churches 
out  of  200  or  300  in  the  State,  claim  and  have  exercised 
the  power  to  put  us  out  of  the  denomination  ;  or  else  that, 
not  claiming  this  power,  they  have  gravely  decided  that 
we  "ought  not  to  be  recognized" — as  what  we  confessedly 
are.  In  other  words,  that  the  truth  ought  to  be  suppressed 
or  ignored.  If  the  latter  be  their  meaning,  it  is  in  good 
keeping  with  the  evidence,  and  with  the  avowedly  ex-parte 
construction  of  the  Council.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
say  they  have  power,  and  have  exercised  it  to  put  us  out 
of  the  Congregational  Church,  then  of  course,  according  to 
their  own  showing,  they  will  have  no  more  right  hereafter 
to  meddle  with  our  affairs,  than  with  those  of  a  Baptist, 
Episcopal,  or  Methodist  Church.  This  is  some  comfort; 
and  if  the  few  disaffected  members  who  have  not  already 
left  us,  will  do  so,  according  to  the  advice  of  their  own 
Council,  we  mav  confidently  hope  for  a  lasting  Peace  ;  for 
there  are  no  other  elements  of  discord  among  us.  Not  that 
we  are  all  agreed  on  all  subjects,  social,  political,  and 
economical ;  agricultural,  mechanical  and  financial ;  but 
since  by  common  consent  and  choice  we  leave  all  these 
matters  outside  the  Church,  they  make  and  can  make  us 
no  trouble  as  a  Church  of  Christ.  As  to  ecclesiastical 
interference  unasked  for  by  us,  we  shall  henceforth  stand 
where  we  intended  to  do  from  the  first.  We  were  organized 
simply  as  a  Congregational  Church.    We  were  never  con- 


182  MISCELLANEOUS. 

nected  with  any  Association  or  Consociation.  EflForts  have 
more  than  once  been  made  to  bring  us  into  one  or  the  other 
of  these  relations,  but  always  without  success.  And  now 
we  see  the  wisdom  of  our  choice.  As  an  Independent 
Congregational  Church,  which  we  always  have  been  and 
continue  to  be,  we  can  manage  our  own  aflfairs  without 
troubling  other  Churches  with  our  differences,  if  any  we 
have,  or  having  their  differences  thrust  upon  us.  But 
although  a  Congregational  Church,  we  are  not  sectarians. 
And  here  is  another  advantage  of  our  position.  We  can 
listen  to  faithful  preachers  of  other  denominations  with  as 
much  pleasure  as  if  they  bore  our  own  name.  It  has  so 
happened,  or  been  so  ordered,  without  any  design  of  ours, 
that  all  orfr  ministers  have  been  Presbyterians,  with  the 
exception  of  Rev.  Mr.  Noyes  during  a  part  of  his  connec- 
tion with  us  ;  and  that,  with  the  same  exception  during  the 
latter  part  of  his  incumbency,  they  have  all  held  the  posi- 
tion of  Stated  Supply,  and  'not  of  Pastor,  technically  so 
called.  We  were  organized  as  a  Church  by  a  Congrega- 
tional Council  while  under  the  charge  of  a  Presbyterian 
Stated  Supply,  (Rev.  Dr.  Stiles,)  and  have  continued  under 
a  Presbyterian  Stated  Supply,  except  as  above,  to  the 
present  day, — a  period  of  more  than  eleven  years.  Yet  on 
neither  of  these  grounds  have  we  ever  encountered  any 
interference  or  remonstrance  from  other  Churches,  until 
now.  It  is  now  discovered  that  you  are  not  a  Pastor! 
Why  are  you  not  1  So  far  as  this  Church  is  concerned, 
the  objection  came  from  those,  or  some  of  them,  who  called 
this  Ex-parte  Council.  And  it  was  to  secure  their  concur- 
rence in  the  call,  as  well  as  to  meet  yo«r  own  wishes, 
(which  were  known  to  some  of  us,)  that  you  were  invited 
as  Stated  Supply,  and  not  as  Pastor. 

And  now,  in  closing  this  letter,  already  too  long,  we 
desire  to  express  our  admiration  of  the  moral  heroism 
which  has  enabled  you  successfully  to  resist  the  manifold 
influences  which  have  been  brought  to  bear  upon  you,  tend- 
ing to  swerve  you  from  your  one  great  purpose  of  "  knowing 
nothing  among  us  save  Jesus  Clirist  and  him  crucified." 
In  one  of  your  earliest  discourses  in  this  Church,  you 
declared  that  such  should  be  your  aim,  and  nobly  have  you 


MISCELLANEOUS.  183 

redeemed  the  pledge.  We  thank  you  for  it,  and  God  for 
sending  us  such  a  man.  Go  on,  beloved  Pastor,  and  He 
will  bless  you,  if  man  do  not.  You  have  His  promise,  which 
cannot  fail : — "  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  revile  you 
and  persecute  you,  and  shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against 
yoM  falsely,  for  my  sake."  Matt.  v.  12.  Histoiy  is  full  of 
examples  which  show  that  no  strange  thing  has  happened 
to  you.  Remember  Luther,  Bunyan,  Whitefield,  Paul, 
Jeremiah,  and  above  all,  Christ.  The  Clergy  are  often  the 
greatest  persecutors.  Our  own  feeble  support  we  pledge 
you ;  but  that  is  a  small  matter  compared  with  what  you 
apparently  lose.  Fame,  popularity,  is  a  dazzling  bait  to 
a  youthful  mind,  but  that  we  cannot  promise  you  in  our 
retired  locality,  proscribed  and  maligned  as  we  have  been, 
in  common  with  yourself.  It  is  however  within  your  grasp, 
if  you  will  only  consent  to  abandon  your  principles,  and 
violate  your  convictions  of  duty.  So  your  Divine  Master 
was  offered  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the  glorj'  of 
them,  if  only  He  would  fall  down  and  worship  the  Devil. 
He  successfully  resisted  the  temptation,  and  so  have  you, 
through  Him. — Large  salaries  are  an  attraction  to  most 
men,  but  we  have  no  large  salaries  to  offer.  If  we  are 
rightly  informed,  a  call  has  been  placed  in  your  hands  from 
a  Church  in  New  York  City,  [they  appear  to  have  no 
trouble  about  your  being  an  ordained  minister,]  with  more 
than  double  the  salary  you  are  receiving  from  us.  We  see 
it  stated  in  a  New  York  paper,  that  another  Church  in 
New  York  was  about  to  call  you,  when  they  learned  that 
they  had  been  anticipated  by  the  first  mentioned.  And 
yet,  notwithstanding  these  overtures,  we  expect,  perhaps 
too  confidently,  that  you  will  still  "  abide  with  us."  We 
feel  a  bond  of  affection  in  our  hearts  which  seems  to  make 
you  our  own.  And  we  know  that,  to  a  delightful  extent, 
the  attachment  is  mutual.  May  the  Lord  bless  you  and 
keep  you,  and  continue  to  bless  us  and  this  community 
through  your  instrumentality.  Such  is  the  earnest  desire 
and  prayer  of  your  Church  and  people. 

Signed  by  over  130  members  of  the  Church  and  congre- 
gation. 

New  Haven,  January  1st,  1864. 


184  MISCELLANEOUS. 

MR.  CARROLL'S  REPLY.— HONORS  TO  REV.  MR. 
BARRETT. 

From  a  Xew  Uaven  imper,  Jan.  30,  1864. 
SOUTH    CHURCH. 

As  the  late  Ex-parte  Council  have  brought  the  South 
Cliurch  so  promineuth'  before  the  public,  permit  me  to  saj- 
that  the  week  now  closing  has  been  a  most  interesting  one 
to  that  Church  and  people.  Not  to  speak  of  the  very  im- 
pressive services  in  the  Church  last  Sabbath  day,  and  in  the 
Chapel  in  the  evening,  and  the  very  large  audiences  who 
attended  them,  we  had  on  Tuesday  evening  a  noble  gather- 
ing in  the  Chapel  parlor,  which  covers  nearly  the  entire 
area  of  that  building,  to  listen  to  a  Scripture  exposition  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Carroll,  and  then  to  hear  his  response  to  the  letter 
of  130  of  his  people,  accompanying  their  New  Year's  gift  to 
him  of  S500.  That  large  hall  was  crowded  on  the  occasion, 
so  that  it  was  necessary  to  bring  in  benches.  In  connec- 
tion with  his  response,  they  expected  to  learn  his  decision 
in  reference  to  a  call  which  had  been  extended  to  him  by  a 
Church  in  New  York,  and  which,  it  had  been  reported  that 
he  was  likely  to  accept.  Great  anxiety  was  felt  by  his 
people  on  this  point ;  and  on  the  whole,  they  were  in  such 
a  state  of  mingled  apprehension  and  hope,  that  when  in  his 
earnest  eloquence  he  poured  forth  his  warm  heart  in  love 
and  gratitude  for  the  confidence  and  kindness  they  had 
manifested  towards  him,  a  large  part  of  the  audience  were 
in  tears,  or  struggling  to  restrain  tlie  outburst  of  their  emo- 
tions. When  he  came  to  the  subject  of  the  call,  and 
announced  that  after  much  prayerful  deliberation,  and  not 
Avithout  some  hesitation,  he  had  that  day  returned  a  nega- 
tive ansiver  to  the  invitation,  nothing  but  the  sacredness  of 
the  place  prevented  a  general  explosion  of  rejoicing.  At  the 
close  of  the  meeting  half  an  hour  or  more  was  spent  in  mu- 
tual congratulations,  before  the  audience  could  be  willing 
to  separate.  It  was  an  occasion  long  to  be  remembered ; 
and  was  the  more  impressive  because  of  the  warm  and  gen- 
erous sentiments  expressed  by  our  pastors  towards  each 
other,  as  well  as  towards  their  people. 

Mr.  Carroll,  among  otiier  things,  remarked  that  from  the 
dav  thev  first  met  each   other  until  now,  there   had  never 


MISCELLANEOUS.  185 

been  a  jar  between  them,  even  the  slightest ;  and  Mr.  Bar- 
rett, (wlio  has  always  seemed  to  enjoy  the  honors  intended 
fur  Mr.  Carroll  as  nmch  as  those  received  by  himself,)  said 
he  heartily  assented  to  the  remark.  Mr.  Barrett,  in  address- 
ing the  people,  said  he  had  called  upon  most  or  all  of  them 
at  different  times,  and  had  much  enjoyed  such  opportuni- 
ties—but now  he  was  comfortably  settled  in  his  own  home, 
and  wanted  they  should  call  upon  him.  "  We  will,"  "  we 
will,"  was  heard  from  different  parts  of  the  room,  and  on 
Thursday  evening  following,  sure  enough  they  did  come, 
bringing  with  them  all  manner  of  good  things,  besides  what 
had  been  previously  placed  in  the  Chapel  parlor,  where  it 
was  deemed  expedient  by  his  friends  to  have  the  reception 
held,  on  account  of  the  numbers  who  were  expected  to  be 
present. 

It  was  fortunate  that  they  did  so  ;  for  even  that  spacious 
room  was  filled  with  a  united  and  happy  people,  rejoicing 
at  this  opportunity  to  express  their  kindly  feelings  toward 
one  who  has  so  endeared  himself  to  our  entire  Church.  A 
very  bountiful  and  beautiful  table  was  spread,  loaded  with 
substantials  and  confections,  to  which  due  respect  was  paid 
by  all.  After  supper  our  worthy  senior  deacon,  (God  bless 
him!)  accompanying  the  act  with  an  apt  and  graceful 
address,  presented  Mr.  Barrett  with  a  purse  on  behalf  of 
the  people,  in  addition  to  the  large  supplies  of  commodities 
which  had  accumulated  in  other  forms.  Mr.  B.  responded 
in  a  most  appropriate  and  happy  manner.  This  called  out 
other  speakers — then  an  impromptu  choir  made  sweet  music 
— then  a  parting  prayer  and  blessing.  It  was  one  of  the 
pleasantest  evenings  in  the  history  of  our  hearts  and  of 
our  Church  home.  A  Member. 


As  the  time  drew  near  for  the  close  of  Rev.  Mr.  Bar- 
rett's labors  among  us,  agreeably  to  the  arrangement 
made  with  him  twelve  or  fifteen  months  previously,  the 
South  Church  people  desired  to  give  him  some  part- 
ing expression  of  their  good  will,  and  of  the  high 
esteem  which  they  felt  for  him  as  a  minister,  and  as 
16 


186  MISCELLANEOUS. 

a  man.     Sucli  was  the  object  of  the  interviews  men- 
tioned  n  the  following  extract : — 

From  a  Neiu  Haven  fiaper  of  April  2. 
The  young  folks  connected  with  the  South  Church,  paid 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Barrett,  assistant  Pastor,  a  surprise  visit  at 
his  residence  on  Wednesday  night  last,  notwithstanding  the 
severe  storm  which  prevailed  at  that  time.  After  a  cordial 
greeting  all  round  by  the  Pastor  and  his  excellent  lady,  the 
Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll  presented  the  following  reso- 
lutions : — 

At  a  meeting  of  the  South  Congregational  Church,  March 
29th,  1864,  it  was  unanimously 

Resolved,  That  in  parting  with  Rev.  Myron  Barrett,  who 
for  more  than  a  year  past  has  officiated  in  this  Church  as 
associate  Pastor  with  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll,  we  desire  to  express 
to  him  our  cordial  affection,  respect,  and  esteem,  and  our 
regret  that  we  are  no  longer  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  his  faith- 
ful and  most  acceptable  labors. 

Resolved,  That  the  harmony  and  good  understanding 
which,  without  the  slightest  interruption,  have  uniformly 
existed  between  him  and  this  Church,  and  also  between  him 
and  Mr.  Carroll,  (who  has  so  far  recovered  his  health  and 
strength,  that  he  expects  to  be  able,  henceforth,  to  perform 
the  full  duties  of  his  ministry,)  are  a  subject  of  pleasant 
remembrance  to  us,  and  will  add  to  the  interest  with  which 
we  shall  ever  follow  him  in  his  future  course  of  usefulness, 
wherever  in  the  Providence  of  God,  his  lot  may  be  cast. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  signed  by  the  proper 
officers  of  this  Church,  and  be  communicated  to  Mr.  Bar- 
rett as  our  parting  salutation,  with  our  best  wishes  for  the 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  himself  and  family  here  and 
hereafter. 

J.  HALSTED  CARROLL, 
THOS.  IIORSFALL, 
CHAS.  H.  WARNER, 
NICHOLAS  COUNTRYMAN, 
C.  F.  HOTCHKISS, 
JOHN  H.  LEE]?S, 


kiSCELLANEOUS.  187 

Mr.  Barrett,  with  a  heart  overflowing  witti  gratitude,  res- 
ponded in  a  few  brief  remarks,  thanking  Mr.  Carroll  and 
the  Church,  for  this  acknowledgement  of  his  humble  efforts 
in  the  past  year.  Mr.  Frederick  Willoughby  then,  in  be- 
half of  the  young  people,  presented  Mr.  Barrett  and  lady 
with  a  beautiful  photographic  Album,  nearly  filled  with 
pictures  and  *'  greenbacks,"  as  a  testimonial  of  their  esteem, 
friendship  and  good  will,  towards  one  who  had  ever  been  their 
friend  through  weal  or  woe,  in  sunshine  or  darkness,  and 
regretted  exceedingly  that  they  were  called  to  part  so  soon. 
Mr.  Barrett  was  so  completely  taken  by  surprise,  that  he 
was  at  a  loss  for  words  to  thank  his  friends,  but  assured 
them,  that  though  absent,  they  would  not  be  forgotten.  On 
Thursday  evening  the  adult  members  of  the  Society  pre- 
sented ^Irs.  Barrett  with  a  beautiful  rosewood  work  box, 
filled  with  all  the  little  trinkets  which  are  so  necessary  and 
useful  to  a  lady's  work  table.  Mr.  Barrett  leaves  many 
friends  in  this  city  who  will  always  feel  intei-ested  in  his 
welfare. 


STATE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

At  each  annual  meeting  of  the  South  Church,  held 
in  the  month  of  November  from  year  to  year,  a  Re- 
port has  been  presented  by  a  Committee  previously 
appointed  for  the  purpose,  on  the  "  State  and  Pro- 
gress of  the  Church  "  during  the  twelve  months  im- 
mediately preceding.  The  first  two  of  these  Reports, 
viz.,  for  the  years  1853  and  1854,  were  given  verbally, 
and  therefore  Ave  are  unable  to  quote  any  extracts 
therefrom.  The  same  was  the  case  with  the  Report 
of  1863.  From  those  of  the  other  nine  years  since 
the  organization  of  the  Church,  we  proceed  to  give 
extracts,  more  or  less  extended,  as  follows  : — 


188  MISCELLANEOUS^ 

YEAR  ENDING  NOVEMBER,  1855. 
Lewis  M.  Mills  and  Thos.  Horsfall,  Committee. 

During  the  past  year,  the  number  of  those  received  into 
the  Church,  has  been  encouraging  in  no  small  degree, 
amounting  to  iifty-two,  of  whom  thirty-four  were  by  pro- 
fession and  eighteen  by  letter.  The  largest  number  re- 
ceived at  any  one  communion  was  twenty-one. 

The  Gospel  in  its  purity  has  been  preached  twice  every 
Sabbath,  the  efficacy  of  which  we  trust  may  be  seen  in  a 
great  measure,  from  the  fruits  of  holy  living  among  the 
members  of  the  Church,  and  in  the  deep  interest  manifested 
on  the  part  of  the  impenitent,  in  the  oft  repeated  inquiry, 
"What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?"  And  the  evening  service, 
where  a  review  of  the  great  and  important  truths  presented 
during  the  day  from  the  pulpit,  has  been  made,  has  had  the 
tendency,  in  our  opinion,  to  fix  on  the  mind,  and  impress 
upon  the  heart  and  conscience,  whatever  has  been  presented 
in  the  public  assembly.  Thus  has  been  afforded  opportu- 
nity for  self-application  and  self-examination,  producing  the 
peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness. 

At  the  close  of  the  afternoon  service,  the  Young  Men's 
Prayer  Meeting,  numbering  at  times  as  high  as  three  and 
thirty,  and  averaging  about  twenty,  has  been  well  sustained 
during  the  year,  in  which  those  who  have  just  entered  the 
Redeemer's  service,  have  been  gathering  strength,  and 
where,  by  their  united  prayers  and  exhortations,  a  unity  of 
sympathy  has  sprung  up,  arming  them  with  a  moral  power 
which  has  stood  by  them  in  their  hours  of  temptation  and 
trial,  when  engaged  in  the  busy  scenes  of  the  world.  In 
this  meeting  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  every  one  has  felt 
it  to  be  his  duty  to  sustain  the  exercise.  Every  one  has 
been  at  his  post,  and  all  have  considered  the  time  devoted 
to  this  hour,  as  consecrated  and  precious. 

The  Monthly  Concert  for  the  conversion  of  the  world, 
has  been  sustained  with  great  interest.  Here,  not  only  has 
the  Church  been  ready  to  cry  mightily  unto  God  for  the 
outpouring  of  His  Spirit  on  the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  as 
our  beloved  Pastors  have  set  forth  tlie  great  wants  of  the 
dying  nations,  and  held  up  the  glorious  promises  for  their 


-MISCELLANEOUS.  189 

redemption  which  draweth  nigh, — but,  according  as  God 
has  prospered  them,  they  have  contributed  of  their  sub- 
stance, counting  it  all  joy  to  be  permitted  to  co-operate 
with  the  great  God  in  the  glorious  plan  of  human  Redemption. 
Your  Monthly  Donations  for  this  object[have 

amounted,  during  the  year,  to $  20o  89 

For  the  Southern  Aid  Society, 1,029  78 

"     "     American  Tract  Society, 217  00 

"     "     American  Bible  Society, 50  00 

"     "     American  and  For.  Christian  Union,     100  00 

*'     "     American  Home  Miss.  Soc, 66  09 

"     "     City  Mission, 33  74 

"     "     Am.  Seaman's  Friend  Soc, 31  50 

"     "     Collections  at  Communion  Service,  .      53  00 

Amounting  in  all  to .81,787  00 

besides  what  has  been  collected  for  the  Sabbath  School. 

The  Tuesday  evening  conference  meetings  have  been 
occasions  of  the  most  intense  interest ;  the  number  in 
attendance  averaging  about  fifty.  The  exercises  have  been 
usually  opened  by  one  and  sometimes  by  both  of  the  Pas- 
tors, by  remarks  whose  savor  has  been  of  life  unto  life,  as 
we  trust  shall  be  evinced,  when  the  great  Book  shall  be 
opened.  These  occasions  will  long  be  remembered  by 
many  of  those  who  during  the  past  year  met  with  that  glo- 
rious cliango  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  Satan  to 
God.  Precious  meetings  these  have  been,  brethren  and 
sisters,  in  which  we  have  gained  new  accessions  to  the 
throne  of  our  Father.  Their  memory  will  ever  bo  green, 
and  the  retrospect  of  them  will  summon  up  before  our 
minds,  seasons  when  our  souls  had  a  nearness  to  God,  and 
a  communion  which  was  sweet. 


YEAR  ENDING  NOVEMBER,  1856. 

C.  F.  HorcHKiss  and  Chas.  H.  Warner,  Committee. 

The  increase  to  the  Church  during  the  past  year,  by  pro- 
fession, is  16  ;  being  but  about  half  the  number  of  the  year 
16* 


190  MISCELLANEOUS. 

previous.  The  blessed  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  have  ever  attended  the  truth  deliv- 
ered to  our  congregation  on  the  Sabbath  by  our  Pastors ; 
and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  many  of  their  extraordinary 
and  earnest  appeals  have  been  sent  home  to  the  hearts  of 
those  who  were  occasional  in  their  visits  to  our  sanctuary  ; 
thus  sowing  the  seed,  to  grow  and  ripen  for  the  harvest  at 
the  Great  Day.  We  may  never  gather  them  in  this  fold 
upon  earth  ;  we  may  never  see  them  again  here ;  but  we 
may  see  them  in  the  mansions  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  and 
hear  them  tell  that  their  acquaintance  with  the  truths  of 
the  Gospel  commenced  in  these  temples  consecrated  to  the 
service  of  God. 

The  Sunday  evening  meetings  in  the  Chapel,  where  the 
subject  matter  of  the  day's  service  has  been  reviewed,  have 
during  the  year  been  extremely  well  attended,  and  the  op- 
portunity to  apply  these  great  truths,  has  not,  we  trust, 
been  in  vain.  The  usual  number  in  attendance,  has  been 
about  130  persons. 

Connected  with  our  Sabbath  exercises,  is  another  auxili- 
ary in  the  cause,  of  no  less  importance.  We  allude  to  the 
meeting  following  the  afternoon  service,  called  the  "Young 
Men's  Prayer  Meeting."  '  This  is  held  in  the  Chapel,  and 
has  been  kept  up  ever  since  that  building  was  completed. 
Here  a  feeling  of  brotherly  love  has  been  exhibited,  well 
worthy  the  imitation  of  all  our  other  organizations ;  for  your 
Co  1  mittee  are  constrained  to  say,  that  in  this  branch  of 
the  Church  an  earnestness  in  prayer,  a  freedom  of  exhorta- 
tion, and  an  anxiety  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  have 
been  displayed,  that  will  add  great  strength  to  the  cause, 
and  to  the  Church  in  its  future  history.  The  average 
number  present  at  these  meetings  is  ]6. 

The  Tuesday  evening  praycir  meetings  held  in  this  room, 
are  among  the  most  interesting,  and  as  your  Committee 
hope,  profitable  branches  of  the  Church,  both  to  its  members 
and  tlie  strangers  whom  we  often  see  in  our  circle.  The 
Church  is  largely  represented  in  these  meetings,  and  it  has 
uniformly  been  so  during  the  year.  The  average  atten- 
dance for  the  year  has  been  51.  The  largest  number  pres- 
ent at  any  time,  was  on  the  26th  of  February,  when  the 
meeting  numbered  74  persons. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  191 

The  Bible  Class,  under  the  instruction  of  brother  Mills, 
has  become  a  source  of  great  interest  to  those  who  are  con- 
nected with  it. 

Another  auxiliary  in  the  cause,  is  the  Ladies'  Sewing 
Society.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  efforts  of  the  ladies 
have  been  signally  comforting,  not  only  to  the  poor  in  our 
neighborhood,  but  to  destitute  missionaries  and  their  fami- 
lies at  the  West. 

The   Sabbath    School,   under  the    superintendence    of 
brother  Minor,  numbers  about  100  ;  average  attendance  80. 
The  records  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Church  show  the  fol- 
lowing contributions  during  the  year,  viz  : 

Foreign  Missions, ' $205  90 

Am.  Tract  Society 218  42 

Sabbath  School, 31  75 

Am.  Bible  Society, 37  15 

Am.  and  For.  Christian  Union, 92  07 

City  Mission, 35  56 

Am.  Home  Missionary  Society, 61  00 

Am.  Seamen's  Friend  Society, 36  00 

Southern  Aid  Society, ." 1 ,000  00 

Sl,717  85 
The  state  of  our  finances  is  next  in  order,  and  is  usually 
in  all  large  bodies  a  matter  of  great  importance.  With  us, 
our  financial  department  seems  to  claim  but  little  of  our 
concern.  We  certainly  have  great  cause  for  thankfulness 
that  we  are  so  comfortably  situated,  and  that  these  blessings 
are  so  bountifully  provided  for  us.  The  yearly  expenses  of 
our  whole  Church  arrangements  must,  in  the  opinion  of 
your  Committee,  be  between  86,000  and  $7,000 ;  wiiile  our 
whole  income  proceeds  from  rents  of  slips,  and  cannot 
probably  exceed  S700. 

YEAR  ENDING  NOVEMBER,  1857. 

Thomas  Horsfall,  C.  B.  Foote,  ANo'WiM.  M.  Hubbard, 
Committee. 
We  have  been  permitted,  in  the  providence  of  God,  to 
enjoy  the  labors  of  two  ministers  another  year.     They  have 


192  MISCELLANEOUS. 

labored  faithfully  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Church.  "We 
have  had  preached  to  us  two  sermons  every  Sabbath,  and 
there  has  been  a  good  attendance  on  these  means  of  grace, 
not  only  by  our  own  Church  and  congregation,  but  by 
strangers  and  members  of  other  congregations  in  the  city. 
The  preaching  of  the  "Word  has  been  owned  and  blessed  of 
God  in  the  conversion  of  sinners,  and  in  the  edifying,  com- 
forting and  strengthening  of  his  people.  There  have  been 
added  to  the  Church  during  the  year,  13,  viz :  8  by  pro- 
fession, and  5  by  letter.  Three  have  died.  The  whole 
number  of  Church  members  in  good  and  regular  standing 
is  180.  You  will  perceive,  brethren,  that  the  number  added 
to  the  Church  this  year  is  much  smaller  than  in  any  pre- 
vious year  since  the  Church  was  organized.  Your  Com- 
mittee are  aware  that  the  number  of  unconverted  in  the 
congregation  has  been  smaller  than  in  any  former  year.  Yet 
if  we  had  all  been  as  faithful  as  our  Pastors  have  been,  we 
think  the  number  of  conversions  would  have  been  larger. 

The  religious  exercises  on  Sabbath  evening  have  been 
very  well  attended  throughout  the  year,  not  only  by  our 
own  Church  and  congregation,  but  by  many  whom  we 
never  see  in  the  Church  during  the  day.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  features  of  these  meetings  is  the  large  n.imber 
of  young  persons  who  are  present  every  Sabbath  evening. 
Your  Committee  feel  confident  that  the  earnest,  searching 
appeals  made  to  them  so  often  by  our  ministers,  cannot  be 
lost  upon  them. 

The  Monthly  Concert  of  Prayer  for  the  conversion  of 
the  world,  has  been  very  well  attended.  Also  the  Young 
Men's  Prayer  Meeting,  held  in  the  Chapel  inmiediately 
after  the  afternoon  service.  The  average  number  in 
attendance  at  the  last  mentioned  meeting  has  averaged 
about  16.  These  meetings  have  been  greatly  blessed  to 
all  who  have  attended  them. 

The  Sabbath  School,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  brought 
nearer  to  our  Church  at  tlie  last  annual  meeting,by  the  adop- 
tion of  a  rule  making  it  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  appoint  a 
committee  of  three  at  the  commencement  of  every  quarter, 
for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  families  connected  with  the 
Church  and  congregation,  and  endeavonng  to  awaken  an 


MISCELLANEOUS.  193 

interest  in  the  Scliool  on  the  part  of  parents,  and  to  secure 
a  more  regular  attendance  of  the  children.  Also  to  visit 
the  School  occasionally,  and  thus  cooperate  with  the 
Superintendent,  by  every  means  in  their  power,  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  the  School.  Your  Committee  feel  no  hesi- 
tation in  saying  that  this  rule  has  worked  well.  Very  soon 
after  the  first  committee  commenced  their  labors,  the  School 
began  to  increase.  The  committee  have  been  uniformly 
well  received,  and  parents  seemed  ready  and  willing  to 
cooperate  with  them  in  awakening  on  the  part  of  children  a 
new  interest  in  the  School.  The  number  of  scholars  has 
increased  during  the  year  from  100  to  145.  Average 
attendance  about  90.     Teachers,  19. 

The  Bible  Class,  under  the  instruction  of  brother  Mills, 
has  been  well  attended.  The  Class  numbers  about  20  at 
the  present  time.  The  average  attendance  is  about  14. 
Four  or  five  members  of  the  Class  have  united  with  the 
Church  this  year. 

The  Tuesday  evening  prayer  meeting  has  been  well 
attended  throughout  the  year,  sometimes  numbering  be- 
tween GO  and  70.  Average  attendance  about  50.  The 
brethren  who  have  been  called  upon  to  lead  us  in  prayer, 
have  manifested  a  strong  desire  for  a  revival  of  religion  in 
the  Church,  and  the  burden  of  their  prayers  has  been,  "O 
Lord,  revive  thy  work."  The  exhortations  of  our  Pastors 
have  evidently  been  directed  to  the  same  object.  Quite  a 
number  of  families  have  been  united  to  our  congregation 
recently,  and  we  find,  on  inquiry,  that  they  are  almost  all 
of  them  unconverted.  This  teaches  us,  brethren,  that  our 
Lord  and  Master  has  work  for  us  to  do.  Then  let  us  pray 
on,  brethren,  not  only  in  our  social  prayer  meetings,  but  in 
our  closets,  and  let  the  burden  of  our  prayers  still  be,  "  0 
Lord,  revive  thy  work." 


YEAR  ENDING  NOVEMBER,  1858. 

E.  S.  Minor,  C.  H.  Warner,  and  J.T.  Mix,  Committee. 

On  the  15th  of  last  November,  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles,  who  had 
been  Stated  Pastor  of  the»Church  from  its  organization  in 


194  MISCELLANEOUS. 

1852,  having  been  requested  by  the  committee  of  the  South- 
ern Aid  Society  to  devote  his  whole  time  to  the  interests  of 
that  Society,  resigned  his  connection  witli  this  Church,  that 
he  might  enter  upon  the  wider  spliere  of  usefulness  which 
Providence  had  thus  opened  to  his  labors.  *  *  *  By 
the  settlement  of  Rev.  Mr.  Noyes  as  Pastor  of  the  Church, 
and  the  formation  of  an  Ecclesiastical  Society,  our  organi- 
zation was  completed  according  to  the  usages  of  our  de- 
nomination. It  was  hoped  that  under  such  auspices,  the 
Church  and  Society  would  develop  what  native  strength 
they  possessed,  and  more  rapidly  grow  to  the  fulness  and 
stature  of  a  self-sustaining  body.  It  is  too  soon  now  to 
speak  with  much  confidence  of  the  results  of  this  step.  The 
anticipations  of  the  more  sanguine  have  not  perhaps  been 
fully  realized ;  yet  it  is  believed  there  is  a  deeper  sense  of 
responsibility  in  regard  to  the  maintenance  of  public  wor- 
ship, and  a  readier  disposition  to  assume  the  duties  it  im- 
poses, than  was  felt  before. 

The  usual  meetings  for  public  and  social  worship  have 
been  regularly  maintained.  The  attendance  on  Sabbath 
Day  service  has  been  somewhat  increased.  The  Young 
•  Men's  Prayer  Meeting,  held  after  the  afternoon  service  on 
the  Sabbath,  has  been  changed  in  name,  and  in  the  charac- 
ter of  its  attendance.  It  is  now  maintained  as  a  Young 
Feople's  Prayer  Meeting,  and  the  attendance  of  both  sexes 
is  invited.  The  Sabbath  School  and  Bible  Class  continue, 
as  to  numbers  in  attendance,  very  much  as  they  were  a 
year  ago.  The  average  attendance  is  83,  being  seven  less 
than  was  reported  last  year. 

At  the  last  annual  meeting  of  the  Church,  there  were 
reported  180  members,  in  good  standing.  During  the  past 
year,  28  have  been  admitted  by  profession,  and  14  by  letter. 
Eleven  have  been  dismissed,  and  recommended  to  other 
Churches,  leaving  the  net  gain  of  the  year  31,  and  making 
the  present  total  211. 

The  past  year  is  one  greatly  distinguished  in  the  history 
of  the  Church  as  a  season  of  wide-spread  and  gracious 
revival  of  religion.  Our  Church  has  shared  in  the  blessing. 
Such  awakenings  produce  increased  attention  to  the  truth; 
illuminate  darkened  understandings;   make  tender,  bard 


MISCELLANEOUS.  -  195 

hearts;  and  by  the  gentle,  yet  powerful  coustrainments  of 
Divine  love,  win  reluctant  souls  to  the  love  and  obedience 
of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Who  has  not  asked  himself, 
when  witnessing  these  divine  effects,  if  the  Church  could 
not  evermore  rejoice  thus  in  the  light  and  glory  of  Christ's 
salvation  ? — if  the  power  of  religion  could  not  evermore  be 
all-pervading  in  the  family  and  the  business  walks  of  life, 
sanctifying  the  commonest  duties,  and  inscribing  "  Holiness 
unto  the  Lord  "  upon  the  products  of  human  skill  and  the 
gains  of  merchandise,  making  every  form  of  employment  a 
heart-service  to  CTod,  and  not  to  man  1  If  such  are  our 
aspirations,  they  are  the  kindlings  of  the  Divine  Spirit. 
Let  us  carefully  cherish  them,  and  each  in  his  particular 
sphere  of  duty,  endeavor  to  fill  out  in  his  own  life  and  by 
his^  performances,  that  idea  of  a  perpetual  revival  with 
which  God  has  inspired  him. 


YEAR  ENDING  NOVEMBER,  1859. 

C.  N.  Shumway,  Chairman  of  Committee. 

The  year  now  ended  is  the  second  of  the  pastorship  of 
Rev.  G.  W.  Noyes.  His  labors  in  the  pulpit  for  the  last 
year,  have,  it  is  believed,  been  performed  with  faithfulness 
and  energy,  and  an  earnest  desire  has  been  manifested  in 
his  sermons  to  bring  the  Church  up  to  a  higher  standard  of 
piety.  His  labors  as  Pastor  are  believed  to  have  been  ren- 
dered faithfully,  and  have  been  blessed  to  those  who 
received  them.  The  Sabbath  day  and  evening  services 
have,  we  think,  been  quite  as  well  attended  as  during  the 
preceding  year.  And  this  is  true  too,  we  think,  of  the 
Tuesday  Evening  Prayer  Meeting  and  Young  People's 
Prayer  Meeting.  The  average  attendance  at  the  Sabbath 
School,  as  reported  for  the  last  quarter,  was  115,  with  a 
total  of  150;  which  is  a  larger  number  than  has  been 
reported  for  any  preceding  quarter.  The  Superintendent 
and  Teachers,  and  all  who  have  labored  for  the  School,  have 
well  deserved  the  success  which  has  crowne'.  their  self- 


196  MISCELLANEOUS. 

denying  labors.  A  Bible  Class  has  met  during  the  year, 
on  Sabbath  noons,  and  the  most  of  the  time  has  been  well 
attended ;  but  under  the  impression  that  it  in  some  way 
interferes  with  the  Sabbath  School,  it  has  been  decided  to 
abandon  it.  Those  who  have  been  connected  with  it,  will, 
it  is  hoped,  find  places  and  work  in  the  Sabbath  School. 

This  is  the  second  year  of  our  organization  as  an  Eccle- 
siastical Society,  and  wo  have  reason  to  be  gratified  with 
its  results.  More  money  has  been  pledged  for  the  support 
of  the  Gospel,  by  the  rent  of  slips  in  the  Church,*  than  in 
any  former  year. 

The  choir  are  deserving  all  praise  for  the  time  and  labor 
they  have  expended,  and  for  the  success  which  has  enabled 
them  to  make  so  interesting  the  choral  services  of  the  sanc- 
tuary. 

There  has  been  collected  for  benevolent  purposes  during 
the  year,  $1,115.83. 


YEAR  ENDING   NOVEMBER,   1860. 

RuFUS  S,  Pickett,  George  S.  Minor,   and  John  W. 
ScoFiELD,  Committee. 

The  stated  meetings  of  the  Church  have  been  the  same 
as  in  former  years.  The  attendance  at  the  usual  service 
on  the  Sabbath  has  increased  somewhat,  especially  in  the 
afternoon.  Your  Committee  are  not  able  to  report  an 
increased  attendance  at  the  Sabbath  evening  service,  but 
are  under  the  painful  necessity  of  saying  that  it  is  some- 
what less  than  formerly ;  which  is  a  cause  of  discourage- 
ment to  those  who  labor  to  sustain  that  meeting.  The 
Young  People's  Prayer  Meeting  has  been  sustained  with 
the  usual  interest ;  but  we  regret  to  say  that  a  majority  of 
the  females  who  formerly  attended  it,  have  of  late  deserted 
it,  which  has  reduced  the  attendance  to  an  average  of  thir- 
teen. The  Church  Prayer  Meeting  on  Tuesday  evening 
has  been  sustained  with  much  interest.     The  largest  num- 

*  Partly  raised  by  subscription. — Ed. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  197 

ber  present  at  any  one  of  these  meeting  is  60 ;  the  average 
attendance,  38.  The  average  attendance  on  the  Sabbath 
School  during  the  year  is  114;  and  the  whole  number  of 
names  on  the  Secretary's  book  is  neai'ly  200.  These  fig- 
ures, compared  with  those  of  1858,  show  a  gain  of  over 
forty  per  cent. 


YEAR  ENDING  NOVEMBER,   1861. 

Wm.  C.  Scobie,  Thomas  E.  Barrett  and  Alfred  W. 
Minor,  Committee. 

Your  Committee  find  themselves  unable  to  present  as 
favorable  and  cheering  accounts  as  have  been  presented  in 
former  reports.  The  unhappy  state  of  our  country  has 
perhaps  been  one  prime  cause  of  this ;  tending,  as  it  does, 
to  withdraw  the  minds  of  the  Church  from  spiritual  to  tem- 
poral things,  and  consequently  disturbing  the  harmony  of 
purpose  and  unity  among  its  members. 

Some  time  in  the  month  of  May,  our  Pastor,  Rev.  G.  W. 
Noyes,  sent  in  his  resignation,  preached  his  farewell  ser- 
mon on  the  2d  of  June,  and  was  dismissed  on  the  3d. 
Since  then  the  pulpit  has  been  filled  by  an  irregular  supply. 
During  the  past  year  the  attendance  upon  the  Sabbath 
services  has  been  very  irregular,  the  whole  congi-egation  at 
times  numbering  considerably  less  than  one  hundred,  and 
that  too,  before  Mr.  Noyes  was  dismissed,  and  without  any 
good  reason  why  the  attendance  should  not  have  been 
larger.  The  regular  Sabbath  evening  meeting  has  through- 
out the  year  been  sustained  by  a  very  few  members  of  the 
Church ;  the  numbers  present  being  frequently  too  small 
to  sustain  the  interest  of  the  meeting.  The  young  people 
have  continued  their  meeting,  with  an  average  attendance 
fully  equal  to  the  standard  of  previous  years.  This  meet- 
ing, which  was  established  a  few  weeks  before  the  formation 
of  the  Church,  has  been  felt  by  those  who  have  attendeJ  it, 
to  be  one  of  the  pleasantest  gatherings  connected  with  the 
Church.  Average  attendance  during  the  year,  14 ;  being 
one  more  than  the  average  of  last  yeax. 
17 


198  MISCELLANEOUS. 

The  regular  weekly  prayer  meeting  has  been  held  every 
week  but  one  throughout  the  year.  The  largest  number 
present  at  any  time  was  44 ;  the  smallest,  9.  Average,  25. 
The  average  attendance  at  the  Sabbath  School  has  been 
115 ;  one  more  than  last  year.  By  the  report  of  the 
Ladies'  Sewing  Circle,  we  find  that  their  income,  and  con- 
sequently theii'  disbursements,  have  been  considerably  less 
than  in  any  previous  year. 

Your  Committee  are  not  aware  that  there  have  been  any 
hopeful  conversions,  or  that  there  has  been  any  particular 
religious  interest,  either  in  the  Church  or  congregation. 
There  has  been  but  one  addition  to  the  Church,  either  by 
profession  or  letter ;  while  22  have  removed  their  relations 
from  us  to  other  Churches.  Four  have  been  removed  by 
death  ;  and  four  have  either  already  gone  or  are  about  to 
leave  us,  to  engage  in  the  service  of  their  country.  Others, 
whose  names  appear  on  the  list  of  Church  members,  have 
for  a  long  time  past  absented  themselves  from  Church 
gatherings,  and  from  the  Communion. 


YEAR  ENDING  NOVEMBER,  1862. 

Charles  F.  Hotchkiss,  G.  H.  Butricks  and  Robert 

Latta,  Committee. 

It  speaks  volumes  for  our  good,  kind-hearted  officers,  on 
whom  we  have  placed  the  charge  of  all  our  organizations, 
and  who  at  all  times,  and  amid  the  various  sectional  inter- 
ests that  have  crossed  the  path  of  the  Church,  have  ever 
been  at  their  posts,  true  to  us  and  the  Church  of  Christ. 
How  difficult  the  duty  of  satisfactorily  supplying  the  pul- 
pit for  so  long  a  time,  and  yet  how  well  it  has  been  done. 

On  the  1st  Sunday  in  June  last,  our  present  dear  Pastor 
was  by  our  united  hearts  and  the  best  affections  of  his 
people,  regularly  installed  in  our  pulpit,  though  not  by  an 
Ecclesiastical  Council.  A  perceptible  change  in  the  various 
branches  connected  with  the  Church  was  at  once  seen.  From 
the  10th  of  January  last,  when  your  Committee's  labors 
commenced,  (they  having  been  appointed  at  a  special  meet» 


MISCELLANEOUS.  199 

ingin  place  of  a  Committee  who  had  resigned,)  until  the  1st 
of  June,  the  attendance  at  the  main  Church  had  been  gradu- 
ally on  the  decrease,  and  it  was  seldom  visited  by  strangers. 
The  largest  number  present  in  the  forenoon  during  that 
time,  was  91,  and  m  the  afternoon,  179.  The  average 
attendance  was  SO  in  the  morning  and  130  in  the  afternoon. 
The  smallest  number  in  the  forenoon  was  45,  and  m  the 
afternoon  92. 

The  Sunday  evening  services  in  the  Chapel  were  mostly 
supported  by  the  constant  presence  of  a  few  devoted  broth- 
ers and  sisters,  wlio  deemed  it  their  duty  to  be  in  their 
seats.  The  smallest  number  present  during  the  above 
mentioned  period,  from  January  to  June,  was  15;  largest, 
37 ;  average,  23. 

Compared  with  these  statistics,  we  have  the  satisfaction 
to  state  that  since  our  new  minister  entered  upon  his  labors, 
a  great  improvement  has  been  visible  in  every  particular. 
The  attendance  on  Sabbath  morning,  June  1st,'  (his  tirst 
Sabbath,)  was  146  in  the  forenoon,  and  189  in  the  afternoon. 
These  are  the  smallest  numbers  present  on  any  Sabbath 
since  he  commenced  his  labors.  On  both  parts  of  the  day, 
the  average  increase  is  about  300  per  cent.  In  many 
instances  the  Church  has  been  filled,  far  beyond  our  highes^t 
expectations.  The  Sunday  evening  services  from  June  1st 
to  the  time  when  the  meetings  were  transferred  to  the 
Church,  show  an  increase  of  more  than  200  per  cent.  The 
young  people's  prayer  meeting  has  largely  increased.  The 
Sunday  School,  under  the  care  of  brother  George  S. 
Minor,  still  continues  to  be  attractive,  and  is  well  attended. 
A  Bible  Class  of  about  25  persons  gather  regularly  in  the 
Pastor's  study  between  the  regular  Sabbath  services,  under 
the  direction  of  brother  M'Xeill. 

Our  Church  and  congregation  have  contributed  largely 
to  the  rank  and  file  of  our  army,  and  perhaps  none  have 
been  more  saved  from  the  ravages  of  war;  for,  thus  far, 
not  one  to  our  knowledge  has  fallen  by  death,  although 
disease  has  laid  several  aside  for  a  time. 

One  great  cause  for  congratulation  to  the  Church  is,  that 
in  our  meetings  for  business,  or -for  any  other  purpose,  of 
late,  nothing  foreign  to  a  mild  and  Christian  spirit  has 


200  MISCELLANEOUS. 

been  displayed,  and  nothing  has  occurred  to  mar  that  true 
Christian  feeling  which  alone  can  give  it  prosperity. 

Thus  as  a  Church  and  congregation  we  have  abundant 
cause  for  heart-felt  thanksgiving  to  God  ;  Financialhj, — in 
that  we  are  entirely  free  from  debt.  Numerically — that  in 
the  five  months  of  Mr.  Carroll's  ministry  among  us,  our 
congregations  have  steadily  increased  up  to  300  per  cent. 
Socially — as  seen  in  our  last  Ladies'  Sewing  Society  in 
this  room ;  the  largest  ever  assembled  here  on  a  similar 
occasion,  and  as  harmonious  and  as  joyous  as  possible. 
And  Spiritually — the  best  of  all.  We  have  reason, — 0  so 
much  ! — to  bless  our  dear  God  for  His  presence  in  the  ser- 
vices in  the  Church  and  in  the  prayer  meeting ;  in  the 
edification  and  warming  of  our  hearts  who  are  Christians, 
and  in  our  up-building ;  for  we  are  fed  by  the  preached 
word,  and  have  had  the  strong  meat  and  marrow  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ,  which  keeps  our  souls  active  and  full, 
while  the  babes  have  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word  dispensed 
by  our  Pastor  to  them  too,  that  they  may  grow  thereby. 
And  they  are  growing;  for,  thank  God,  His  Spirit  is  now 
striving  with  many  of  the  youth  in  this  Church ;  quite  a 
number  have  been  hopefully  converted  and  are  rejoicing, 
while  many  of  their  companions  are  inquiring  anxiously 
after  salvation.  0  then,  like  the  disciples  of  old,  let  us 
continue,  with  one  accord,  and  of  one  mind,  in  one  place, 
and  pray  without  ceasing,  that  upon  us  as  upon  them,  God 
will  pour  down  a  Pentecostal  blessing,  thereby  adding  to 
our  dear  Church,  multitudes  of  such  as  shall  be  saved. 


YEAR  ENDING   NOVEMBER,  1863. 

Charles  H.  Warner,  John  H.  Leeds  and  Amos  Smith, 
Committee. 

This  report  having  been  communicated  verbally  by  the 
chairman,  we  are  unable  to  give  extracts  from  it.  We 
remember,  however,  that  it  was  full  of  encouragement,  and 
represented  the  affairs  of  the  Church  to  be  in  a  very  pros- 
perous condition,  as  to  its  general  features  and  prospects. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  201 


YEAR  ENDING  NOVEMBi^^E,  1864. 

C.F.HoTCHKiss,  "VVm.M.  Hubbard  and  Pascal  Withey, 

Committee. 

Your  Committee  beg  leave  to  report  that  the  number  of 
additions  to  the  Church  since  our  last  annual  meeting  is  25; 
of  whom  two  came  to  us  from  other  Churches,  and  23  by 
confession  of  faitli,  including  one  who  returned  a  certificate 
previously  given  her  by  this  Church.  Included  in  this 
number  are  also  several  v,ho,  having  been  denied  letters  by 
their  own  Churches,  were  admitted  on  profession  of  their 
faith,  after  examination  and  recommendation  by  the  Stand- 
ing Committee. 

Since  the  last  annual  meeting  our  congregations  on  the 
Sabbath  have  steadily  increased  in  numbers,  and  on  several 
recent  occasions  have  been  very  large.  The  Tuesday  eve- 
ning prayer  meetings  have  been  well  sustained  throughout 
the  year,  with  an  average  attendance  much  larger  than  last 
year. 

During  the  period  the  Sunday  evening  meetings  have 
been  held  in  the  Chapel,  we  all  know  how  admirably  they 
have  been  attended ;  and  the  subjects  selected  by  3Ir.  Car- 
roll, with  his  full  and  interesting  remarks  on  them,  have 
been  instructive  to  us,  as  well  as  the  many  strangers  who 
have  been  attracted  thither.  We  are  now  permitted  to 
commence  a  new  series  of  discourses  on  Scripture  charac- 
ters, to  which,  we  trust,  we  shall  see  increased  attention. 

The  Sabbath  School,  under  the  direction  of  brother  C.  H. 
Warner,  is  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  has  safely  sur- 
mounted all  the  evil  influences  that  many  of  the  seceding 
members  brought  to  bear  upon  it.  The  Bible  Class,  under 
the  direction  of  our  good  brother  Kirkulf,  has  an  increasing 
attendance,  numbering  nineteen  the  last  Sabbath. 

The  Ladies'  Sewing  Society  favored  us  a  few  evenings 
since  with  the  report  of  their  doings,  and  shared  with  us 
the  bounties  of  their  beautifully  arranged  tables.  That 
institution  also  has  surmounted  all  its  share  of  trials  the 
past  year,  and  opens  for  the  future  witli  a  better  prospect 
than  it  did  one  year  ago.    At  its  annual  meeting  there  were 


202  MISCELLANEOUS. 

present  104  persons,  including  many  who  had  recently  cast 
in  their  lot  with  us.     This  department  continues  to  be  useful 
for  its  social  as  well  as  charitable  connections,  and  we  should 
by  every  means  in  our  power,  forward  and  encourage  its  • 
managers  in  their  good  work. 

The  pulpit,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  has  been  filled,  we 
believe,  to  the  cheerful  acceptance  of  all.     Under  the  direc- 
tion of  our  dear  Pastor,  and  the  assistance  during  a  short 
vacation,  of  our  valued  friend  and  his  former  associate.  Rev. 
Myron  Barrett,  we  have  the  past    year  been  favored  with 
the  preached  word  without  having  our  minds  disturbed  by 
the  absorbing  worldly  topics  of  the  day ;    and  if  by  the 
exclusion  of  such  matters,  our  dear  Church  has  been  an 
asylum  to  which  many  of  our  fellow  citizens  could  resort, 
we  may  take  courage  to  believe  that  for  the  future  we  may 
be  able  to  welcome  many  more,  to  worship  with  us  at  our 
altars.     This  class  of  persons  are  numerous,  we  are  happy 
to  say,  and  the  revenue  from  slips  will  much  exceed  that  of 
any  former  year  in  the  history  of  our  Church.     Tlie  peace 
wilhin  these  walls  should  not  cause  us  to  forget  that  in  a  large 
section  of  our  beloved  land.  Churches  are  made  desolate  by 
the  ruthless  hand  of  war,  the  men  of  God  without  support, 
and  the  people  scattered  and  driven  from  their  homes,  to 
seek  a  shelter  for  themselves  and  their  little  ones  wherever 
charity  may  be  found.     Within  these  enclosures  no  disturb- 
ing element  is  now  felt,  and  none  molest  us  or  make  us 
afraid.     Here  we  enjoy  the  sweet  communion  of  kindred 
fellowship,  and  unite  in  our  Christian  cheer.   Hither  we  bring 
all  our  sorrows  and  rejoicings, — our  songs  of  praise  and 
prayers.     It  is  here  that  we  can  shut  out  the  world,  and  in 
faith  try  to  catch  a  word  from  our  dear  Saviour,  whose 
blessed  Spirit  seems  at  times  to  fill  our  hearts  too  full  for 
utterance,  and  sweetly  whispers,  "  My  peace  I  give  unto 
you."      O  blessed   sanctuary,  our   happy  earthly    home! 
Who  among  us  to-night,  when  he  scans  our  privileges  as  a 
band  of  Cliristians.  can  refuse  to  lift  up  his  voice  and  thank 
God  for  his  protecting  care  over  us,  through  the  many  dark 
and  fearful  days  in  the  past,  and  for  the  bright  openings  of 
the  ful  ure.    Blessed  with  peace  and  good  will  in  the  Church ; 
blessed  with  occasional  conversions  from  the  ranks  of  sin ; 


MISCELLANEOUS.  203 

blessed  with  the  use  of  these  comfortable  and  commodious 
buildings ;  blessed  with  the  shepherd  whose  voice  we  all 
can  hear  and  love,  because  we  know  he  careth  for  the  sheep, 
in  that  he  breaks  to  us  the  bread  of  life  ;  blessed,  though  last 
yet  not  least,  because  all  these  God-sent  blessings  are  ours 
without  pecuniary  burthens, — we  may  almost  say  without 
money  and  without  price.  This  is  our  home ;  our  "  Memo- 
rial Stone"  is  erected  here  ;  and  to-night  we  can  truthfully 
re-inscrlbe  on  its  front,  "Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us." 

It  is  probable  that  no  one  connected  with  us  is  ignorant 
of  the  fact  that  fellowship  is  denied  us  and  our  dear  Pastor 
by  nearly  all  the  Churches  of  our  denomination  in  New 
England.  Parties  acknowledged  by  sister  Churches  to  be 
of  their  membership  in  good  and  regular  standing,  and 
desiring  to  cast  their  lot  with  us,  are  denied  the  usual  cer- 
tificates. Also  members  from  us  with  the  same  qualifica- 
tions, and  presenting  certificates  from  us  in  the  usual  form, 
can  only  make  those  certificates  available  by  having  them 
endorsed  by  the  Scribe  of  a  certain  Council,  which  assumed 
to  sit  in  judgment  on  our  Church  and  its  beloved  Pastor. 
While  it  is  not  to  be  denied  tiiat  these  are  real  inconven- 
iences, and  that  such  proscription  is  as  undesirable  as  it  is 
undeserved,  we  may  well  doubt  whether  the  effect  upon  our 
numbers  and  general  prosperity  has  not  thus  far  been  favor- 
able. And  with  the  help  of  God,  it  may  be  still  more  so 
in  time  to  come. 

And  now,  as  to  the  progress  of  our  Church.  The  aim 
and  object  of  our  associating  ourselves  together  in  the 
capacity  of  a  Church,  we  all  agree,  is,  that  the  cause  of  our 
Redeemer  may  be  advanced,  and  that  we  may  receive  spir- 
itual instruction  as  a  support  in  our  pilgrimage  here,  our 
stay  in  the  hour  of  death,  and  preparation  for  an  endless 
eternity.  These  considerations  should  bind  Pastor  and 
people  more  closely  to  each  other ;  and  if  we  do  our  duty 
faithfully,  giving  him  our  support,  and  co-operating  with 
him  in  his  exertions  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  God  will 
prosper  us,  and  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  will  be  extended 
by  our  progress.  We  must  be  a  united  and  happy  Church; 
united  in  our  endeavors  to  comfort  and  sustain  each  other 
iu  hours  of  trial  and  des[.ondtncy  ;  united  in  protecting  the 


204  MISCELLANEOUS. 

interests  and  good  name  of  our  little  flock,  avoiding  every 
thing  that  tends  to  strife  and  ill  feeling,  ready  to  put  aside 
our  own  selfish  ends  to  comfort  and  cheer  our  brethren, — 
in  other  words,  act  according  to  the  Golden  Rule, — and 
then  no  root  of  bitterness  will  spring  up  among  us,  but  we 
shall  be  a  happy  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord.  Our  use- 
fulness will  be  felt,  our  zeal  for  the  Church  quickened,  and 
we  shall  see  conversions  to  Christ  more  frequently  than  we 
now  do.  This  is  what  we  want.  We  want  all  our  house- 
holds converted.  We  want  our  souls  to  go  out  in  earnest, 
united  prayer  that  God  will  save  not  only  us,  (for  this  is 
selfish,)  but  our  kindred,  friends  and  neigbors, — nay,  a  per- 
ishing  world.  These  appliances  are  for  that  end.  Our 
dear  Pastor  is  here  with  iis  for  that  object ;  and  it  is  for  us, 
from  this  time  forth,  to  shake  oflf  our  indifference  about 
men's  souls,  and  work. 

All  our  distracting  anxieties  as  a  Church, — all  the  ele- 
ments of  strife, — like  the  dark  clouds  of  the  storm,  have 
passed  over  us,  and  we  can  have  no  claim  to  an  excuse  for 
future  inactivity.  May  God  in  his  infinite  goodness,  who 
has  so  kindly  directed  us  in  the  year  that  is  past,  be  our 
director  and  support  for  the  year  to  come  ;  and  may  we  all, 
from  this  good  hour,  be  willing  to  be  guided  in  the  ways  of 
truth  and  righteousness,  ready  to  meet  the  summons  when- 
ever God  shall  call  us  hence,  to  death  and  to  judgment. 


SOUTH  CHURCH  FINANCES. 

The  Ecclesiastical  Society  connected  with  the  South 
Church,  was  organized  on  the  5th  of  December  1857.  Dr. 
Stiles  had  resigned  his  position  as  Stated  Supply  on  the 
15th  of  the  previous  month.  Until  the  organization  of  the 
Society,  the  principal  proprietor  of  the  buildings  paid  the 
ministers'  salaries  and  most  other  expenses,  in  his  own  way, 
receiving  from  the  Treasurer  of  the  Church  such  part  of 
the  revenue  from  slips  as  was  not  required  for  incidental 
expenses.  Said  proprietor  kept  no  exact  account  of  his 
payments ;  but  from  such  data  as  are  at  his  command,  he 


MISCELLANEOUS.  205 

estimates  them  at  $5,000  a  year  on  an  average,  for  the  first 
five  years,  ending  about  tiie  date  of  Dr.  Stiles'  resignation. 
By  way  of  offset,  he  received  out  of  the  slip  rents  (and 
there  was  no  other  revenue)  an  average  of  $300  or  $400  per 
annum.  The  first  annual  report  of  the  Treasurer  of  the 
Society  covered  the  year  ending  Nov.  1, 1858.  The  receipts 
and  expenditures  of  the  Society  during  that  and  each  sub- 
sequent year,  ending  Nov.  1st,  were,  according  to  the  Treas- 
urer's reports,  as  follows  : 


Year  ending  Nov.  1, 


Due  Treasurer, 


RECEIPTS. 

EXPENDITURES. 

1859 

82,127  71 

$2,127  71 

1860 

2,309   13 

2,229  30 

1861 

2,325  80 

2,320  94 

1862 

1,706  09 

1,704  79 

1863 

2,788  40 

2,799  31 

1864 

2,708  90 

2,768  87 

16,219  77 

16,279  74 

59  97 

$16,279  74 

From  the  first,  a  large  part  of  the  receipts  have  been 
derived  from  voluntary  contributions  made  by  members  of 
the  Church  and  congregation  ;  the  rent  of  slips  being  low, — 
highest  $25,  lowest  S2, — to  bring  them  within  the  means 
of  persons  in  moderate  circumstances.  No  assistance  to- 
wards the  support  of  public  worship,  has  ever  been  asked 
or  received  from  persons  not  belonging  to  flie  Church  or 
congregation.  It  should  be  remarked,  however,  that  under 
the  ministry  of  Dr.  Stiles,  (and  the  same  is  true  at  present,) 
several  families  rented  slips,  and  occupied  them  a  part  of 
the  time,  who  belonged  to  other  Churches.  This  explains 
the  fact,  that  the  revenue  from  slips  was  larger  during  the 
first  two  years  after  the  formation  of  the  Church,  when  Dr. 
Stiles  was  preaching  his  great  sermons,  than  it  has  been  at 
any  period  since.  For  the  current  year  it  will  probably  be 
larger  than  under  Dr.  Stiles'  ministry.  During  the  whole 
period  of  twelve  years,  ending  1st  of  November  last,  the 
average  rent  from  slips  has  been  about  S500  per   annum. 


206  MISCELLANEOUS. 

It  has  always  been  customary  to  pay  the  ministers'  salaries 
either  weekly  or  monthly,  and  in  the  latter  case  as  early  as 
the  middle  of  the  month. 

The  Treasurer  of  the  Church  has  kept  an  account  dis- 
tinct from  that  of  the  Societi/,  embracing  collections  for 
benevolent  objects  and  the  disbursement  of  the  same ;  col- 
lections at  Communions,  relief  of  poor  members,  Communion 
expenses,  and  sundry  other  matters  pertaining  to  the  Church 
proper,  in  distinction  from  the  Society.  The  largest  aggre- 
gate collected  for  benevolent  Societies  in  any  one  year,  was 
$1,717  85  in  1856.  In  1855  the  aggregate  was  $1,670  32. 
In  each  of  those  years  an  individual  gave  S1,000  for  the 
Southern  Aid  Society. 

Neither  the  Church,  nor  the  Society,  was  ever  in  debt 
except  for  current  expenses,  and  these  for  so  small  an 
amount,  and  for  so  short  a  time,  as  not  to  be  worth  men- 
tioning. 


RESOLUTIONS  CONCERNING  THE  BELL. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  the  Ecclesias- 
tical Society  connected  with  the  South  Congregational 
Church  of  New  Haven,  on  Tuesday  evening,  June  28th, 
1864,  it  was  unanimously 

Resolved,  That  the  ringing  of  the  South  Church  bell,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  recent  meeting  of  a  political  party  to 
ratify  the  nomination  of  their  candidates  for  the  Presidency 
and  Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States,  was  without  the 
consent  or  previous  knowledge  of  this  Committee,  or  any 
of  its  members,  and  was  contrary  to  the  well  known  wishes 
of  the  South  Church  and  Society,  and  their  Minister,  as  to 
the  mingling  of  eccesiastical  affairs  with  politics,  and  that 
said  act  is  disapproved  and  deeply  regretted  by  this  Com- 
mittee. 

Resolved,  That  the  Sexton  of  this  Church  has  no  more 
rightful  control  over  the  bell,  than  over  any  other  portion 
of  the  property  entrusted  to  his  care ;  and  that  over  none  of 
said  property  has  he  any  jurisdiction  or  control,  except  as 


MISCELLANEOUS.  207 

delegated  to  him  by  its  owners  or  lessees,  or  by  this  Com- 
mittee, who  are  their  legal  representatives.  Much  less  has 
he  a  right  to  exercise  any  control  over  that  property  in 
opposition  to  their  instructions  or  known  wishes. 

Resolved,  That  no  person  ought  to  be  employed  as  Sex- 
ton of  this  Church,  who  is  unwilling  to  conform  strictly, 
and  at  all  times,  to  the  spirit  of  the  foregoing  resolutions. 

Resolved,  That  henceforth  the  Sexton  of  this  Church  be 
prohibited  from  ringing  or  tolling  its  bell,  or  permitting  it  to 
be  rung  or  tolled,  for  any  political  or  secular  purpose  what- 
ever, except  in  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July,  or  in  cases  of 
fire,  insurrection  or  invasion,  without  the  written  consent  of 
this  Committee  or  its  chairman ;  and  that  any  intentional 
departure  from  this  rule  by  the  Sexton,  shall  be  regarded 
as  affording  ample  cause  for  his  removal. 

Resolved,  That  as  the  act  so  justly  complained  of,  was 
not  only  public  in  its  nature,  but  has  been  made  more  so  by 
newspaper  comments,  these  resolutions  be  also  published, 
as  signed  by  the  members  of  this  Committee. 
THOS.  HORSFALL,  Chairman, 
C.  F.  HOTCHKISS, 


T.  H.  FULTON,  f  Committee. 

GERARD  HALLO CK,  3 

Speaking  of  bells,  we  are  reminded  of  a  little  com- 
munication which  was  written  just  after  the  Vicks- 
burg  rejoicing,  in  July,  1863,  but  was  not  published. 
On  the  principle  of  "better  late  than  never,"  we 
append  it  here  : 

For  the  Journal  and  Courier. 
Messrs.  Editors  : 

You  say  in  your  paper  of  this  morning,  "We  are 
requested  to  ask  who  stopped,  or  tried  to  stop,  the  ringing 
of  the  South  Church  bell  at  the  rejoicing  over  the  capture 
of  Vicksburg?  "  Would  it  not  be  more  pertinent  to  ask, — 
'^  Who  rung  that  bell,  and  hy  whose  authority  1 "  Was  it 
done  by  order  of  the  Society's  Committee?  or  even  with 


208  MISCELLANEOUS. 

their  knowledge  1  Had  any  application  been  made  to  that 
Committee  by  the  Mayor,  or  Common  Council,  or  by  any 
one  else,  to  permit  it  to  be  rung  1  Or  was  it  rung  by  some 
unauthorized  person  or  persons,  who  saw  fit  to  take  posses- 
sion of  other  people's  property  without  their  consent?  I 
am  not  raising  the  question  of  the  propriety  of  ringing 
Church  bells  on  the  occasion  mentioned,  or  on  any  or  all 
other  occasions  of  public  rejoicing  or  mourning ;  but  only 
ask  whether  such  bells  are  the  property  of  every  individual 
who  can  gain  access  to  them  and  is  capable  of  ringing  them, 
or  whether  they  belong  to  their  legal  owners  or  lessees. 
Perhaps  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  answer  this  question 
before  you  determine  the  other;  and  if  you  decide  in  favor 
of  "the  largest  liberty"  against  the  rights  of  property, 
don't  complain  if  one  of  these  days  you  should  hear  the 
Center  Church  bell  rung  as  a  token  of  rejoicing  over  some 
Federal  dismtcr;  for,  in  a  city  of  40,000  inhabitants,  there 
may  be  some  individual  who  will  think  this  a  proper  use  of 
the  Center  Church  bell,  and  .hat  he  has  a  better  right  to 
determine  that  question  than  the  Society  or  its  Standing 
Committee. 

One  of  Your  Subscribers. 


HEATING  APPARATUS. 

Near  the  close  of  1864,  a  large  new  furnace  was  placed 
under  the  South  Church,  main  edifice,  instead  of  two  small 
ones,  which  were  worn  out.  But  it  was  found,  as  before, 
that  in  certain  conditions  of  the  wind,  smoke  and  coal  gas 
would  blow  down,  and  escape  into  the  body  of  the  Church. 
The  same  cause  kept  the  fires  from  burning  freely.  To 
remedy  these  evils,  a  chimney  more  than  100  feet  high  was 
erected  in  an  angle  of  the  tower,  and  with  it  the  furnaces 
were  connected  by  flues.  The  result  was  all  that  could  be 
desired.  Cost  of  the  new  furnace  and  chimney,  a  little  more 
than  S600. 


CHAPTER   VII. 
REV.  MR.  CARROLL'S  "MEMORIAL"  SERMON. 

Believing  tliat  the  Memorial  Sermon  preacliecl  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  in  the  South  Church  on  the  second 
anniversary  of  his  ministry  there,  should  have  a  place 
in  a  work  like  this, — not  because  it  is  intrinsically 
better  than  many  other  sermons  he  has  preached  in 
that  Church,  but  as  embodying  numerous  facts  in 
our  history,  and  also  as  setting  forth  the  principles 
^yhich  govern  his  pulpit  ministrations  in  some  im- 
portant particulars, — principles  which  are  cordially 
approved  by  his  present  Church  and  congregation, — 
we  have  asked  and  obtained  permission  to  republish 
it,  as  here  presented.  The  reader  will  i^erceive  that 
some  parts  of  it  are  a  good  deal  expanded  as  com- 
pared with  the  edition  already  published  by  request 
of  his  people.  In  other  words,  portions  of  it  which 
were  then  omitted  or  abridged,  are  here  restored  to 
their  original  form,  as  delivered  from  the  pulpit,  or 
as  nearly  so  as  can  be  done  at  this  time.  Much  of 
the  sermon,  when  spoken,  was  not  written  out  in 
full.  It  was  first  preached  on  Sabbath  afternoon, 
June  5th,  1864,  being  two  years  from  the  commence- 
ment of  Mr.  CarroU's  labors  as  minister  of  the  South 
18 


210  llEV.  MR.  CARROLL'S  SERMON. 

Chiircli.  On  the  next  Sabbath  evening  it  was  re- 
peated, by  request,  before  a  very  large  audience,  inclu- 
ding many  members  of  other  churches  and  congrega- 
tions. The  reader  will  please  bear  in  mind,  that  the 
statistics  of  this  sermon  come  down  only  to  the  1st  of 
June,  1864,  and,  so  far  as  the  South  Church  is  con- 
cerned, relate  chiefly  to  the  two  years  immediately 
preceding,  viz. :  from  1st  June,  1862  to  1st  June 
1864 ;  whereas,  the  Catalogue  at  the  close  of  the 
volume  deals  with  calendar  years,  extending  from 
January  1st  to  January  1st,  and  covers  the  whole 
period  from  the  organization  of  the  Church  in  1852 
to  the  beginning  of  1865. 


SEEMON. 


I.  SAMUEL  VII.  12. 

"Thkx  S.\.s[Cel  took  a  Stone,  axd  set  it  betu-eex  Mizpeh  axd 
She.v,  and  called  the  xame  of  it  Ebexezek,  satixg,  Hitheuto 
UATU  THE  Lord  helped  us." 


There  are  occasions  in  associated  life,  signaled  by 
remarkable  deliverances,  or  distinguished  by  marked 
tokens  of  Divine  favor,  which  call  not  only  for  passing 
remembrance,  but  for  formal  and  permanent  recogni- 
tion. Many  such  belong  to  the  Church  of  God,  and 
one  is  referred  to  in  the  historic  context. 

Behold  that  scene  at  Mizpeh  !  The  sacrificial 
altar  is  reared, — upon  it  smokes  the  lamb,  slain  for 
a  burnt  oiFering ;  around  it,  already  gathered,  is 
idolatrous  and  obdurate  Israel,  now  repentant  and 
returned  to  G-od  ;  while  before  it,  a  holy  i)rophet 
prays  a  i)rayer  in  which  heart,  voice,  vision,  all  are 
lifted — a  prayer  of  consecration  and  intercession  for 
his  people,  which,  mounting  on  the  breath  of  the 
evening  sacrifice,  ascends  with  it,  a  sweet-smelling 
savor  unto  God.  But  lo  !  in  the  midst  of  solemn 
sacrifices   and   prayers,    Philistia's   embattled   hosts 


212  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

surround  them,  and  threaten  a  sore  and  immediate 
overthrow.  Ah-eady  their  defiant  shout  rings  through 
the  tents  of  Israel,  and  now  the  dread  gleam  of  their 
weaponry  flashes  on  their  eyes.  Ere  the  challenge 
is  answered,  or  the  ranks  are  formed,  the  lords  of  the 
Philistines  are  seen  advancing  to  the  attack.  A 
panic  seizes  the  Hebrew  host.  Escape  is  impossible. 
Nought  is  left  but  inglorious  flight,  with  instant  and 
irresistible  pursuit ;  or  ignominous  surrender  with  its 
merciless  horrors.  In  despair  the  Israelites  crowd 
around  Samuel,  and  in  tones  of  terror  beseech  him,  as 
their  theocratic  viceroy,  to  seek  and  secure  divine  inter- 
position and  deliverance  ;  "  cease  not  to  cry  unto  the 
Lord  our  God  for  us,  that  he  will  save  us  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  Philistines."  And  see  !  responding  to 
their  cry  ;  undisturbed  by  the  imminent  danger  ; 
undismayed  by  the  impending  onset ;  how  the  patri- 
arch prophet,  calm  and  resolute,  remains  behind  the 
smoke  of  his  sacrifice  ;  his  face  uplifted  ;  his  hands 
outstretched  imploringly ;  until  heaven  becomes  his 
ally  ;  until  he  hears  the  artillery  of  the  skies,  the 
clouds  mustering  to  the  battle  ;  until  he  sees  light- 
ning arrows  shot  from  the  quiver  of  God,  making 
havoc  remediless  in  the  ranks  of  the  exultant  foe  : 
For  "  the  Lor.d  thundered  with  a  great  thunder  on 
that  day  upon  the  Philistines  and  discomfited  them." 
Here  was  a  manifest  miraculous  interposal,  and  for 
it,  as  a  memorial  of  Divine  deliverance,  as  a  monu- 
ment unto  God,  for  His  glory,  and  the  inspiration  of 
their  children  adown  the  ages,  Israel  set  up  a  stone, 


"the  memorial  stone,"  213 

and  called  it  Ebenezer,  saying,  "  Hitherto  hath  the 
Lord  helped  us," 

As  the  occasion,  so  the  place  is  memorable.  It 
was  conspicuous  in  location,  as  its  very  name  indi- 
cates. Mizpeh,  i,  e.  Watch-tower,  occupied  an  ele- 
vated site,  the  highest  eminence  in  the  landscape 
near  Jerusalem  ;  and  if  rightly  identified  with 
"  Nehi-Samuel,"  was,  according  to  an  apocryphal 
writer,  within  sight  of  the  holy  city.  A  city  of 
Benjamin,  it  was  likewise  famed  in  sacred  history 
as  Israel's  central  gathering  place  ;  where  Samuel 
sacrificed  and  judged  ;  where  Saul  was  designated 
King  ;  and  is  noted  in  profane  history  as  the  spot  on 
which  "  King  Richard  buried  his  face  in  his  armor, 
and  exclaimed,  '  Oh  !  Lord  God,  I  pray  I  may  never 
enter  thy  holy  city,  if  so  be  that  I  may  not  rescue  it 
from  the  hands  of  thine  enemies,'  "•••■ 

It  was  here,  then,  in  this  most  remarkable  and 
prominent  place,  Samuel  lifted  the  memorial  pillar, 
alike  a  history  and  a,  phophecy  ;  a  record  of  p)(ist,  a 
prediction  of  future,  deliverances. 

And  surely,  brethren,  in  our  history  we  have  every 
reason  for  lifting  the  monumental  stone,  and  in  this 
public  place,  as  a  memorial  of  God's  gracious  favors 
which  have  crowned  the  years  just  past,  and  as  a 
pro})hecy  of  similar  interposition  during  the  new  year 
we  enter  upon  to-day,  fraught   as  it  is  with  so  many 

*  See  Stanley's  Sinai  and  Palestine,  p.  213. 
18* 


214  REV.  MR.  CARROLL'S  SERMON, 

blessings,  and   brightened  witli  so    many    sanguine 
hopes. 

That  the  inscription  of  onr  hearts  upon  the  stone 
we  set  up  should  be  Ebenezer,  i.  e.  "  stone  of  help," 
will  appear  if  we,  as  a  Church,  recall  our  manifold 
deliver  aiices.     And 

1st. — Our  deliverance  from  Financial  Embar- 
rassments. 

A   most   gracious   deliverance.     Kead   the   initial 
chapter  of  our  history.     The  Church  sprang  almost 
from  nothing,  in  a  destitute  and  neglected  portion  of 
the  city,  where  there  were  few  worshippers,  and  still 
fewer  who  were  able  and  willing  to  assist  in  the  enter- 
prize  ;  without  a  congregation  ;  with  scarcely  a  word 
of  encouragement  and  Christian  cheer ;  and  encoun- 
tering the  opposition  of  those  who  regard  it  a  pious 
duty  to  annul  all  proceedings,  and  annoy  all  persons 
who  do  not  humbly  seek  and  secure  their  imprimatur, 
and  who,  over  the  freshly  laid  foundation  stones,  and 
even  over  the  finished  walls,  snceringly  asked,  "What 
do  these  feeble  folk  ?     Will  they  fortify  ?    Will  they 
sacrifice  ?    Verily,  if  a  fox  go  up,  he  will  break  down 
their  stone  wall."     But  these  stone  walls  still  stand, 
spite  of  all  the  foxes  ;  and  though  their  erection,  and 
the  sustaining  of  the  means  of  grace  within  them 
since,  have  cost  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  both 
Church  and  Society  are  out  of  debt,  and  always  have 
been. 


"the  MEMORIAL  STONE."  215 

Although  the  aggregate  exijenditure  has  been  large, 
it  has  been  borne  cheerfully  by  our  own  members, 
without  being  burdensome  to  any.  Except  from  two 
individuals  in  the  erection  of  the  buildings,  not  a 
dollar  was  ever  asked  or  received  towards  the  estab- 
lishment or  support  of  public  worship  here,  from  any 
source  outside  of  our  own  Church  and  couOTeo-ation. 
Meanwhile,  a  standing  invitation  has  been  and  still 
is  held  out  to  all  who  desire  to  listen  to  the  Word 
of  Life,  or  are  willing  to  do  so,  to  come  in  and  enjoy 
our  religious  privileges,  with  or  without  money  and 
without  price. 

With  such  an  experience,  humbly  yet  thankfully 
must  we  set  up  a  stone  to-day,  memorial  of  God's 
special  blessing  in  our  temporalities,  saying,  "  Hith- 
erto hath  the  Lord  helped  us." 

2nd. — Deliverance  from  Internal  Strife. 

God  says,  "  Where  envying  and  strife  is,  there  is 
confusion  and  every  evil  work."  At  present  and  at 
length  we  are  mercifully  delivered  from  such  signs  of 
Divine  displeasure  ; — this  withering  blight  and  blast- 
ing mildew  has  been  removed  at  last  from  this  por- 
tion of  the  Lord's  vineyard.  We  begin  our  new  pas- 
toral year  amid  the  rejoicings  of  a  peaceful  people, 
and,  we  fain  hope,  beneath  the  smiles  of  an  approvino- 
God.  We  are  now  a  united  people,  since  those  who 
relished  and  indulged  in  unchristian  asperities,  and 
who  sought  schism,  together  with  those  who  consci- 
entiously differed  from  the  principle  of  this  Church 


216  REV,  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

in  excluding  politics,  have  been  re-absorbed  in  more 
congenial  folds.  No  lonorer  need  our  labors  and 
strength  be  expended  on  a  factious  opposition  minor- 
ity, to  neutralize  their  disastrous  efforts  to  dismember 
and  destroy,  but  can  be  devoted  wholly  to  the  direct 
advancement  of  the  legitimate  and  spiritual  objects 
of  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom. 

Oh,  this  merciful  deliverance  ! — This  longed-for, 
welcome  blessing,  who  can  over-estimate  !  Actually 
permitted  to  possess  our  souls  in  peace, — to  "  maintain 
the  unity  of  tlic  faith,"  yet  in  "  the  bonds  of  peace!" 
Alas  for  that  people  who  are  given  up  to  envying 
and  strife  and  cruel  criticism  ;  for  they  are  thereby 
declared  deserted  of  God,  and  may  expect,  as  they 
will  have,  barren  ordinances, — and  their  pastors,  of 
course,  a  barren  ministry.  Ah,  here  then  is  a  great 
deliverance ;  deliverance  from  strife,  and  as  a  se- 
quence, from  "  confusion  and  every  evil  work,"  which 
must  be  entailed  upon  any  people  where  even  a  part 
would  rather,  as  Matthew  Henry  says,  "  hear  them- 
selves speak,  though  it  be  to  misrepresent  and  malign, 
than  to  enjoy  the  peace  of  God,  and  the  teachings  of 
His  Spirit." 

For  redemption  from  dissension  we  raise  the  pillar, 
and  on  it  the  significant  inscription — "Ebenezer  !" 

3(1. — Delivorancc  from  Declension  and  Spiritual 
Lethargy. 

This  Sabbath,  two  years  ago,  in  great  physical 
weakness,  1  preached   my  first   sermon   to   a   small 


"the  memorial  stone."  217 

congregation,  occupying  a  few  places,  here  and  there, 
in  this  large  edifice,  wliile  the  average  attendance 
upon  the  week-day  service  approached  the  minimum 
gospel  number.  But  note  the  change  which  God  hath 
wrought.  While  our  weekly  meetings  are  uniformly 
well  attended,  our  congregations  on  the  Sabbath  have 
so  rapidly  and  steadily  increased,  that  they  compare 
most  favorably  with  some  of  the  oldest  central 
churches, — and  this,  notwithstanding  our  remote  po- 
sition from  the  centre  of  the  city  ;  notwithstanding 
the  persistent  and  prolonged  efforts  of  members 
within  to  diminish  our  numbers  ;  notwithstanding 
organized  and  official  efforts  of  ministers  of  God 
without. 

And  from  lethargy,  likewise,  have  we  been  deliv- 
ered. God's  children  have  been  earnest  and  active  for 
their  Heavenly  Father, — not  merely  exhorting,  edify- 
ing one  another,  but  winning  sinners  to  the  Saviour. 
We  have  had  additions  by  profession,  as  well  as  by 
certificate,  at  every  Sacramental  season  save  two,*  of 
such,  as  I  believe,  Avill  take  the  wine  anew  in  the 
kingdom  above.  In  the  two  years  last  past,  fifty-nine 
have  been  added  to  the  membership  of  this  Church 
— eighteen  on  certificate,  forty-one  on  profession. 
Think  of  this,  dear  brethren!  So  many  deathless 
souls  redeemed,  through  your  instrumentality,  to 
glorify  Christ  on  earth,  and  shine  in  His  crown  in 
Heaven.     Is   not   this   a   glorious   reward   for   your 


■  By  profession,  or  certificate,  at  every  Communion,  save  one. 


218  REV.  MR.  CARROLL'S  SERMON, 

labors  in  season  and  out  of  season, — for  providing 
and  sustaining  these  means  of  grace,  whicli,  to  even 
one  immortal,  have  eventuated  in  hopes  of  glory  ? 

And  ye,  who  have  been  thns  redeemed,  and  have 
a  new  life  in  your  hearts,  and  a  new  song  in  your 
mouths,  do  you  not  bless  God   for   this   dear  Zion, 
your  spiritual  birth-place,  and  will  you  not,  even  in 
heaven  ?     Most  precious  to  me,  as  your  minister,  are 
ye  !     Though  not  rewarded  for  success,  but  for  labor, 
— (not  he  that  is  successful,  but  he  that  is  faithful 
unto  death,  winning  and  wearing  the  croAvn,) — still 
no  inconsiderable  portion  of  my  support  and  comfort 
during  the  hours  of  trial  through  which  I  have  passed, 
were  these  soul  seals.     For  surely,  however  imperfect 
the  presentation  of  the  truth,  however  much  in  my 
ministrations  may  have  been  thought  omitted   and 
wrong,  God  blessed  what  loas  uttered  ;  and  it  seems 
enough  was  uttered  to  build  up  and  comfort  saints, 
and  convert  sinners  unto  God  ;  for,  we  are  only  sanc- 
tified by  the  truth,  'Thy  word  is  truth!'     While  I 
liave   such   encouraging   acknowledgments   that  the 
word  of  God,  and  not  man's  teaching,  has  been  pre- 
sented, I  ask  that  your  prayers  m^y  ascend  with  mine, 
that  while  I  stand  here,  I  may  preach   nothing   but 
"  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ,"  and  be 
sustained  in  the  resolution  and  determination  "  not 
to  know  any  thing  among  you  save  Jesus  Christ,  and 
Him  crucified." 

I  abjure  all  isms  and  ignore  all  secular  and  political 
themes   in   the  house  of  God,  on  the  day  of  God, 


"the  memorial  stone."  219 

either  preached  or  prayed ;  (and  they  can  be  as  easily 
j)rayed  as  preached  ;)  I  do  not  py^ay  them  ;  I  recog- 
nize Government  as  an  institution  of  Grod,  and  "the 
powers  that  be/'  as  '-'ordained  of  God."  I  jjray  for  our 
Rulers, — obeying  the  Ajjostle's  exhortation, — "  I  ex- 
hort, therefore,  that,  first  of  all,  supplications,  prayers, 
intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made  for  all 
men  ;  for  kings  and  for  all  in  authority  :  that  we  may 
lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness  and 
honesty."  I  pray  that  God  would  endue  them  with 
His  Spirit  ;  grant  them  wisdom  from  above,  which 
is  profitable  to  direct ;  make  them  fearless  of  men, 
because  so  fearful  of  God  ;  cause  them  to  be  ex- 
ecutors of  the  Divine  Will ;  crown  with  His  blesssing 
and  with  success  every  j)lan  which  shall  be  for  the 
real  good  of  our  land,  and  the  glory  of  God. 

I  pray  for  our  Country, — that  God  would  merci- 
fully interpose  in  her  behalf;  converting  her  from 
one  vast  Golgotha  into  the  land  of  Emanuel. 

I  pray  for  the  Soldiers, — that  the  Angel  of  the 
Lord  would  encamp  round  about  them  ;  that  God 
would  preserve  them  in  health  and  morals  ;  that  He 
would  bless  them  in  all  their  interests  for  time  and 
eternity,  and  graciously  care  for  their  families  and 
friends  as  well. 

I  pray  for  Peace, — for  peace  in  God's  own  time  and 
way,  (and  "  His  ways  are  not  as  our  ways") — for 
peace  in  accordance  with  God's  mind  and  will,  (and 
"His  thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts,") — for  peace, 
which,  if  God  sends,  must  be  righteous  and  right. 


220  REV.  MR.  CARROLL'S  SERMON, 

But  to  go  further  than  this, — when  leading  the  devo- 
tions of  an  entire  jjeople,  to  intone  the  shiholeth  of 
a  party ;  when  failing  to  represent  the  desires  and 
wants  common  to  all,  and  spiritual,  to  become  the 
high  priest  of  a  party  before  Grod's  throne,  exj^ressing 
what  is  partial  and  political ;  to  dictate  to  the  All- 
Wise  and  Most  High  God,  the  time  and  way  in  which 
His  plans  shall  be  executed, — this  I  never  can  do.* 

Nor  do  I  preach  politics.  In  all  places  and  at  all 
times  I  have  opposed,  to  the  full  extent  of  my  ability, 
the  introduction  of  civil,  secular,  and  political  ques- 
tions into  the  house  of  God.  I  do  not  mean  neces- 
sarily party  politics,  or  those  that  play  directly  into 
party  hands,  but  also  that  mingling  of  public  and 
political  affairs  with  the  ministrations  of  the  pulj^it, 
which  brings  up  and  discusses  in  this  sacred  place 
and  time,  those  topics  of  secular  interest  which  occupy 
the  minds  of  worldly  men  during  the  week.  My  rea- 
sons for  this  course  I  can  here  only  indicate  ;  a  course 

*  The  Boston  "Congregationalist,"  under  the  heading,  Harangvdng 
in  Prayer,  says,  "  He  who  uses  the  form  and  attitude  of  prayer  to 
ventilate  his  individual  opinions  upon  puVjhc  poHcy,  to  animadvert  upon 
public  measures  and  public  men,  to  lecture  the  assembly  upon  its  duty, 
or  to  forestall  its.  action,  to  harangue  his  fellowworshippcrs  as  auditors' 
or  to  ofifer  a  disquisition  upon  tlie  state  of  affairs — in  a  word,  he  who 
makes  prayer  any  other  than  a  reverential  expression  to  Almghty  God 
of  feelings  and  desires  that  maj'  be  fairly  assumed  to  be  common  to 
the  Christian  consciousness  whose  mouth-piece  he  is,  not  only  violates 
the  conventional  proprieties  of  public  prayer,  but  gives  offense  to  de- 
vout minds,  and  occasion  for  cavil  to  the  undevout,  and  is  guilty  of 
irreverence  toward  Almighty  God." 


*'the  memorial  stone."  221 

which  is  regarded  as  such  a  startling  innovation,  and 
80  subversive  and  destructive  of  the  primary,  essen- 
tial, spiritual  object  and  end  of  the  Gospel  ministry, 
as  to  draw  upon  its  humble  representative  the  formal 
and  official  promulgation  of  "  anathema," 

(1)  I  regard  it  Unscriptural, — as  degrading  my 
high  calling  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  as  an  unwarrantable 
substitute  for  a  Gospel  message.  What  is  the  min- 
ister's calling, — what  should  be  his  message  ?  Paul 
answers  in  2  Cor.  v,  18-21,  "Andall  things  are  of  God, 
who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ, 
and  hath  given  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation ; 
to  wit,  that  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world 
to  himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them  ; 
and  hath  committed  unto  us  the  word  of  reconcilia- 
tion ;  now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as 
though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us  :  we  pray  you  in 
Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God.  For  He  hath 
made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin  ;  that 
we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
Him." 

Is  not  the  minister's  calling  indeed  "a  high  calling 
of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  Is  not  the  message  given 
unto  him  spiritual  ?  Does  it  not  pertain  to  men's 
souls  ;  their  sins  ;  their  Saviour  ;  and  the  method  of 
salvation  by  Him  ?  Certainly  ;  and  this  is  the  very 
essence  of  that  Gospel  the  Master  commands  His 
ministers  to  preach  to  every  creature. 

We  then  who  are  called  to  deliver  God's  message, 
should  keep  to  God's  record,  which  forbids,  either  as 
19 


222  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

a  supplement  or  as  a  substitute,  the  presentation  of 
"another  gospel,"  be  it  of  side  issues,  or  popular 
reforms,  or  "  Sharpe's  rifles."  We  therefor^  believe 
the  Divine  message  is  not  delivered,  nor  is  the  Mas- 
ter's word  adhered  to,  when  His  servants  substitute 
matters  of  state  for  those  of  the  soul ;  the  secular 
for  the  sacred  ;  the  political  for  Christ ;  "the  power 
of  God  and  wisdom  of  God"  unto  salvation  to  every- 
one that  believeth. 

But  has  not  the  gospel  to  do  with  man  in  his  rela- 
tions to  man,  as  well  as  to  God  ;  in  his  relations  to 
human  government,  as  well  as  to  the  divine  ;  with 
the  duties  of  a  citizen,  as  well  as  of  a  sinner  .5^  Of 
course  it  has.  Then  must  not  the  minister  preach  the 
rendering  "unto  Caesar  the  things  which  be  Cjesar's," 
as  "  unto  God  the  things  which  be  God's  ?"  Must 
he  not  preach  that  "the  powers  which  be,  are  ordained 
of  God :  Whosoever  therefore  resisteth  the  power,  re- 
sisteth  the  ordinance  of  God".^  To  be  sure  he  must ; 
and  presenting  them  as  the  gospel  does,  neither  de- 
grades his  high  calling,  nor  vitiates  the  spirituality 
of  his  divine  message,  nor  converts  it  into  a  political 
harangue.  For,  "  while  these  passages  put  govern- 
ment on  its  right  basis,  they  do  not  inquire  into  the 
origin,  rightfulness,  or  excellence  of  any  government ; 
nor  do  they  give  the  preacher  in  expounding  them 
the  smallest  authority  for  so  doing.  They  take  every 
government  on  earth  as  it  is.  It  may  be  good,  or  bad  ; 
founded  in  right,  or  wrong.  Nor  do  these  passages 
bind  the  citizen   to  approve  every  act  of  his  govern- 


"the  memoiual  stone."  223 

ment,  even  in  time  of  war.  Did  no  good  citizens  in 
England  disapprove  of  their  war  upon  the  Colonies  ? 
or  their  opium  war  with  China  ?  or  the  Crimean 
war.?  Did  no  good  citizen  disapprove  of  our  war 
with  England  in  1812  .?"  or  our  war  with  Mexico  ? 
"  Did  Paul  approve  of  all  the  acts  of  his  govern- 
ment when  he  wrote  the  passages  to  the  Eomans, 
already  quoted  ?  If  he  did,  he  approved  the  acts  of 
a  government  at  which  it  has  been  thought  virtu- 
ous ever  since  to  shudder.  These  passages  say  not 
a  word  of  these  things,  and  if  the  minister  sticks 
to  his  text,  he  will  not.  Again  :  the  true  interpreta- 
tion of  them  is  true  always.  Therefore,  either  they 
do  not  teach  the  doctrine  of  passive  obedience,  or 
they  condemn  the  revolutions  of  1648  and  1688,  in 
England,  and  the  revolution  of  1776,  in  America. 
Again  :  the  true  interpretation  is  true  everywhere. 
Eternal  truth  is  universal.  The  Bible  is  for  all  the 
earth.  Ministers  then,  rightly  interpreting  these 
texts,  will,  in  every  land,  and  under  every  govern- 
ment of  earth,  say  the  same  thing  if  they  speak 
according  to  the  oracles  of  Grod,"  Yet  how  many 
ministers,  discoursing  on  these  words,  remind  us  of 
the  saying  of  Daniel  Webster:  "  too  many  ministers 
get  their  text  from  the  Bible  and  their  sermon  from 
the  newspapers  ;"  verify  the  statement  of  Toplady, — 
''  few  men  are  more  prone  to  dabble  in  politics  than 
some  divines  ;  and  it  must  be  added,  few  men  in 
general  have  acquitted  themselves  more  lamely  than 
these  reverend  daubers  with  untempered  mortar  ;" — 


224  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

endorse  the  truthfulness  of  the  statement  of  Wash- 
ington Irving  when  he  says, — "  a  cunning  politician 
is  often  found  skulking  under  the  clerical  robe,  with 
an  outside  all  religion  and  an  inside  all  political 
rancor.  Things  S2)iritual  and  things  temporal  are 
strangely  jumbled  together,  like  poisons  and  antidotes 
on  an  apothecary's  shelf;  and  instead  of  a  devout 
sermon,  the  church-going  people  have  often  a  political 
pamphlet  thrust  down  their  throat,  labeled  with  a 
pious  text  from  Scripture." 

But  I  need  not  tell  you,  my  hearers,  adopting  the 
language  of  a  distinguished  divine  to  his  people, 
"  that  it  has  come  to  pass  in  these  latter  days,  that 
these  standing  places  of  God's  messengers  to  a  ruined 
world,  become  oft-times  the  mere  platforms  for  political 
harangues,  where  all  questions  of  practical  morals  are 
discussed  as  side  issues  with  some  aim  of  the  dema- 
gogues. That  the  cross  of  Christ  is  taken  down  from 
its  high  place  as  the  crowning  glory  of  the  sanctuary, 
and  in  its  stead,  as  an  engine  of  reform,  is  lifted  the 
ballot  box  ;  and  the  popular  passions  are  lashed  into 
storm,  that  with  their  suffrages  as  freemen  they  may 
carry  a  Maine  Law  or  defeat  a  Nebraska  bill.  That 
these  altars  of  our  God,  Avhere  the  broken  heart  is 
demanded  as  a  sacrifice  to  Jehovah,  become  oft-times 
only  "seats  of  custom"  where  the  worldly  tribute  is 
rendered  to  CaDsar.  That  the  precepts  of  the  Divine 
law,  thundered  from  Sinai ;  the  promises  of  the  Gos- 
pel issued  in  the  death-cry  from  Calvary  ;  alas  !  they 
are  all  set  aside  and  forgotten,  that  these  ambassadors 


''THE  MEMORIAL  STONE."  225 

of  God  may  discourse  political  declamation  upon 
moot  points  that  divide  our  great  political  parties. 
Either  because  these  men  find  the  duties  of  their 
sacred  profession  so  light  and  their  consequent  leisure 
so  abundant ;  or  because  they  regard  the  care  of 
souls  so  trivial  a  concern  in  comparison  with  the 
general  enlightenment  of  society  on  these  political 
questions  ;  or,  it  may  be,  because  they  regard  them- 
selves as  men  of  such  prodigious  powers  and  special 
inspiration,  as  to  make  it  their  extraordinary  call  to 
leave  to  their  humbler  and  less  gifted  brethren  the 
care  of  the  ark  in  the  fields  of  Bethshemish,  while 
they  strive  about  the  golden  mice  with  the  lords  of 
the  Philistines." 

We  believe  such  a  course  to  be  unscriptural,  and 
ask  for  the  Bible  warrant. 

We  cannot  appeal  on  this  point  to  Old  Testament 
examples.  For,  it  has  been  observed  justly,  there  is 
no  parallel  between  their  government  and  our  own. 
Theirs  was  Theocratic.  With  them,  Church  and 
State  were  one  and  the  same.  "  What  was  political 
was  ecclesiastical,"  and  therefore  pertained  legiti- 
mately and  necessarily  to  the  ministers  of  religion. 
But  does  it  follow  that  what  was  lawful  and  a  neces- 
sity for  the  Jewish  prophet,  is  either  Avith  the  New 
Testament  minister  who  does  not  live  under  a  Theo- 
cracy ;  where  Church  and  State  are  not  identified,  or 
so  much  as  united  ;  where  things  political  are  7iot 
ecclesiastical ? 

19* 


226  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

Again  :  there  is  no  parallel  in  this  resj)ect  between 
a  Jewish  prophet  and  a  Christian  minister  ;  for  the 
prophet  was  inspired,  the  minister  is  not.  When  he 
is,  then  may  the  preacher  under  the  New  Testament 
speak  as  did  the  proi)het  under  the  Old.  But  while 
he  does  not  live  under  a  Theocracy  ;  while  he  is 
without  special  revelation  of  some  particular  political 
doctrine,  and  without  special  inspiration  to  declare 
it,  the  gospel  minister  must  continue  to  preach  the 
things  spiritual  which  God  has  already  revealed.* 

Turnmg  from  the  Old  to  the  New  Testament, 
where,  in  the  life  and  precepts  of  Christ  and  His 
Apostles,  do  we  find  an  example  of  political  preach- 
ing, or  the  duty  enjoined  ? 

Do  you  find  the  indispensable  warrant  in  any  of  the 

*  "  The  Jewish  commonwealth  constituted  in  all  the  stages  of  its 
history  a  pure  Theocracy.  David  was  anointed  of  God,  as  the  type  of 
Christ,  and  his  kingdom  was  the  dim  foreshadow  of  that  kingdom 
which  is  not  of  this  world.  He  was  not  only  king,  but  prophet.  When 
he  uttered  imprecations  upon  the  enemies  of  the  Jewish  State,  God 
spake  through  him  against  His  enemies  and  the  enemies  of  the  Church. 
When  he  poured  out  his  passionate  love  for  Jerusalem,  his  prophetic 
soul  was  enraptured  with  the  glories  of  the  new  Jerusalem  coming 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven.  And  now,  it  is  sheer  ignorance,  if  it 
be  not  blasphemy,  for  a  New  Testament  minister,  whoso  head  Samuel 
has  not  anointed,  and  whom  God  has  not  moved  by  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  to  seize  the  sceptre  and  harp  of  David,  and  put  on  the 
mantle  of  Elijah,  and  dwarfing  the  prophecies  into  mere  temporal  pre- 
dictions, to  apply  them  to  a  nation  whom  God  has  never  chosen  as  he 
did  the  Jews,  or  to  a  human  govcriuncnt  wliich  he  has  not  set  up  as  he 
did  the  old  Theocracy." —  Vandyke  on  the  Spirituality  and  Independence 
of  the  Church,  p.  13. 


"the  memokial  stone."  227 

sermons  or  epistles  of  the  Ajjostles  ?     No  !     Among 
them  it  cannot  be  found. 

Do  you  find  it  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  or  in 
any  of  the  precepts  of  Christ  ?  Surely  not  in  them. 
On  a  certain  occasion  "  one  of  the  company  said  unto* 
Him,  Master,  speak  to  my  brother  that  he  divide  the 
inheritance  with  me  ?"  Is  the  warrant  found  in  His 
reply  :  "  who  made  me  a  judge  or  divider  over  you  ?" 
No  ;  on  the  contrary,  is  not  that  reply  a  rebuke,  or  at 
least  a  significant  hint  to  ministers,  not  to  "intermed- 
dle in  civil  affairs  that  concern  the  commonwealth," 
— a  plain  intimation,  that  this  is  not  any  more  the 
minister's,  than  the  Master's  business. 

On  another  occasion,  the  Pharisees  "  took  counsel 
how  they  might  entangle  Him  in  His  talk."  They 
therefore  "  sent  out  to  Him  their  disciples  with  the 
Herodians" — a  committee  from  Church  and  State — 
fanatical  members  of  the  one,  and  political  jiartizans  of 
the  other — to  learn  whether  He  w^as  loyal  to  Cesar's 
government.  True,  He  obeyed  the  laws,  and  paid 
His  tax,  poor  as  he  was,  though  it  required  a  miracle 
to  do  it.  But  this,  it  seems,  was  not  sufficient. 
Neither  Pharisaic  nor  Herodian  loyalty  can  be 
satisfied  until  He  declares  His  jiolitical  sentiments. 
Does  He  declare  them  ?  Docs  He  seize  this  most 
auspicious  moment  to  set  Himself  right  with  fanatic 
or  partizan  ?  Does  He  improve  this  occasion,  so 
inviting,  by  preaching  a  sermon  upon  the  agitating 
subject  of  that  day,  "is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute 
unto  Ca3sar,  or  not  ?"     Did  He  discourse  on  govern- 


228  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

mental  policy,  or  decide  the  question,  however  im- 
portant, of  disputed  political  allegiance  .''  What  an 
opportunity  for  preaching  politics  !  for  settling  this 
vexed  question  by  a  Divine  example  which  His  min- 
isters might  imitate  and  perpetuate  !  Did  He  do  it ; 
and  thereby  endorse  a  similar  course  in  His  servants 
as  lawful  and  Scriptural  ?  Wliat  is  the  record  ? 
'•'  But  Jesus  perceived  their  wickedness,  and  said,  why 
tempt  ye  me,  ye  hypocrites  V  "  Keuder  unto  Ca3sar 
the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  to  God  the  things 
that  are  God's."  Does  this  answer  furnish  us  with 
the  necessary  warrant  ?  Have  we  here  a  sample  of  a 
modern  political  sermon,  or  a  command  to  preach 
one  ?  So  far  from  it,  should  this  very  answer  of  the 
Master  be  returned  to  our  modern  catechising  com- 
mittees, they  would  pronounce  it  at  best  but  suspi- 
cious and  evasive,  cowardly  and  conservative  ;  if  not 
denounce  it  as  disloyal  and  traitorous.  So  doubtless 
felt  and  spake  the  original  Committee  ; — the  furious 
Pharisee  and  the  baffled  Herodian  ; — for  we  read, 
''  they  marveled,  and  left  Him,  and  went  their  way." 
Or  do  we  find  such  a  warrant  in  the  records  of  the 
first  Ecclesiastical  Council  of  the  Christian  Church 
holden  at  Jerusalem  ?  No.  And  though  it  be  to 
the  shame  and  disgrace  of  the  Church  in  these  latter 
days  ;  yet,  for  the  honor  and  purity  of  the  early 
Church,  must  we  not  conclude,  in  this  respect  there 
is  no  analogy  between  them.  So  far  at  least  as  we 
may  judge  from  })orsonal  knowledge  and  experience 
of  modern  ecclesiastical  Councils,  and  so  far  as  their 


"the  memorial  stone."  229 

records  and  result  furnish  a  basis  of  comparison,  we 
must  say,  to  us  any  resemblance  in  spirit  or  spiritu- 
ality, is  inconceivable  between  primitive  Councils  of 
the  apostolic  day,  and  Puritan  Councils  of  the  pres- 
ent day. 

On  another  occasion,  when  a  Council,  not  of  the 
Christian,  but  of  the  Jewish  Church,  arraigned  Jesus 
for  alleged  heresy  and  offenses  against  the  Mosaic 
law,  coupled  with  charges  of  disloyalty  and  treason 
against  the  State,  so  that  if  they  failed  to  prove  Him 
guilty  of  the  one,  they  might,  by  the  jiower  of  polit- 
ical prejudice,  insure  His  condemnation  by  the  other, — 
when  thus  before  Pilate's  bar,  do  we  find  the  sought 
for  warrant  in  His  answer  to  the  heathen  Governor, 
explaining  to  him  the  spiritual  nature  of  His  king- 
dom :  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world  :  if  my 
kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then  would  my  servants 
fight  ;  "  but  now  is  my  kingdom  not  from  hence." 

Again  :  Peter  and  John  were  similarly  arraigned 
for  insisting  upon  preaching  Christ,  and  Christ  only. 
"  The  priests  and  the  Captain  of  the  Temple  and  the 
Sadducees  came  upon  them,  being  grieved  that  they 
taught  the  23eople  and  preached  through  Jesus  the 
resurrection  from  the  dead."  "And  they  took  know- 
ledge of  them  that  they  had  been  with  Jesus."  "But 
when  they  commanded  them  to  go  aside  out  of  the 
Council,  they  conferred  among  themselves,  saying, 
what  shall  we  do  to  these  men?"  "  That  it  spread  no 
farther  among  the  people,  let  us  straightly  threaten 
them,  that  they  speak  henceforth  to  no  man  in  this 


230  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

name.  And  they  called  them,  and  commanded  them 
not  to  speak  at  all  nor  teach,  in  the  name  of  Jesus." 
Do  we  find  the  desired  warrant  in  their  answer.^  "  Pe- 
ter and  John  answered  and  said  unto  them,  whether 
it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken  unto  you 
more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye.  For  we  cannot  but 
speak  the  things  which  we  have  seen  and  heard." 

Yet  again,  they  brought  them  and  "  set  them 
before  the  Council :  and  the  high  priest  asked  them, 
did  not  we  straightly  command  you  that  ye  should 
not  teach  in  this  name  ?  and,  behold,  ye  have  filled 
Jerusalem  with  your  doctrine."  "  Then  stood  there  up 
one  in  the  Council,  a  Pharisee,  named  Gamaliel,"  and 
he  said,  "  refrain  from  these  men  and  let  them  alone  ; 
for  if  this  counsel  or  this  work  be  of  men,  it  will 
come  to  nought  ;  but  if  it  be  of  God,  ye  cannot  over- 
throw it ;  lest  haply  ye  be  found  even  to  fight  against 
God.  And  to  him  they  agreed  ;  and  when  they  had 
called  the  Apostles  and  beaten  them,  they  commanded 
them  that  they  should  not  speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
and  let  them  go."  Do  we  find  a  warrant  for  preach- 
ing anything  but  Jesus — do  we  find  any  warrant  the 
remotest,  for  preaching  politics,  from  the  Apostles' 
words  or  deeds  after  that  memorable  and  inquisitorial 
Council  adjourned  ">  Eead  :  "  And  they  departed 
from  the  presence  of  the  Council,  rejoicing  that  they 
were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  His  name. 
And  daily  in  the  temple  and  in  every  house,  they 
ceased  not  to  teach  and  preach — Jesus  Christ." 

In  the  absence  of  all  Scriptural  warrants,  either 


"the  memorial  stone,"  231 

from  example  or  precept  ;  from  Christ  or  His  Apos- 
tles ;  from  sermon  or  ej)istle  ;  or  from  the  records  of 
the  assembled  Church  ;  therefore  we  also  exclude  all 
secular,  or  political,  or  semi-political  themes  and  dis- 
cussions from  our  ministry  ;  therefore  it  is  we  deem  it 
our  duty  to  preach  only  the  Gospel — "  not  to  know  any 
thing  among"  the  people  "  save  Christ,  and  Him  cruci- 
fied;" therefore  it  is  we  judge  and  say  with  Paul,  "Now 
then,  we  are  ambassadors  for  God  " — "  We,  then,  of 
all  persons  in  the  world,"  says  Toplady,  "  sliould 
religiously  abstain  from  whatever  may  conduce  to 
cherish  the  seeds  and  fan  the  fires  of  civil  discord. 
Shocking  it  is  when  they  who  profess  to  experience 
and  to  preach  the  love  of  Christ,  can  so  far  prostitute 
the  dignity  and  design  of  their  sacred  calling  as  to 
offer  fulsome  incense  at  the  shrine  of  aggrandized 
authority,  or  seek  to  exasperate  differing  parties 
against  each  other,  instead  of  laboring  to  j^reserve 
unity  of  spirit,  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  peace,  and 
promote  righteousness  of  life.  Our  direct  business  is 
with  the  policy  of  an  invisible  and  better  country. 
On  the  one  hand,  we  are  to  sound  the  trumpet,  not  of 
secular,  but  of  sjnritual  alarm  ;  and  on  the  other,  to 
proclaim  to  them  that  mourn,  and  to  them  that 
believe,  in  Zion, 

'Tlie  joyful  news  of  sias  forgiven, 
Of  hell  subdued  and  peace  with  heaven.'  " 

(2)  It  is  unnecessary.  There  are  other  places  pro- 
vided for  political  instruction,  and  open  to  all.  Why 
make  the  House  of  God  a  caucus  room  ?     There  are 


232  EEV,  MR.  Carroll's  sermon 


other  means,  and  ample  for  all.     Why  take  those 
intended  for  spiritual  ends,  and  so  pervert  them  that 
they  shall  effect  only  what  is  selfish  and  secular  "?     It 
is  the  peculiar  mission  of  the  press  to  give  such  infor- 
mation.    Why   then   should  the   j^ulpit  voluntarily 
give  up  its  mission  that  it  may  assume  that  of  the 
press,  which  needs  no  extraneous  help,  throwing  off 
on  the  wings  of  every  hour  innumerable  and  much 
wiser  treatises  on  these  subjects,  and  which  neither 
asks  nor  gives  thanks  for  foreign  advocacy.^     Besides, 
we  ask,  in   the  words  of  Dr.  Dwight,   "  Will  party 
politics  carry  you  to  Heaven  .?     Has  Christ  said,  '  He 
that  is  a  Federalist,  he  that  is  a  Democrat,  shall  be 
saved  .^  '     Has  he  not  said,    '  He  that  believeth  shall 
be  saved;  and  he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned  ?' 
Has  He  not  said,  '  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  like- 
wise perish  "?  '     Has  He  not  said,  '  Without  holiness 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord  ?  '     Has  He  not  required 
you  to  '  Folloio  peace  with  all  men  ? '     Has  He  not 
told  you  '  that  the  fruit  of  righteousness  is  sown  in 
peace,  of  those  that  make  peace  ;  and,  therefore,  that 
it  cannot  be  sown  in  contentions — nor  by  them  that 
work  contentions  ?  '  " 

Not  essential,  sowing  tlie  seeds  of  discord,  and 
already  absorbing  the  minds  of  men  six  days  out  of 
seven  elsewhere,  is  it  necessary  that  another  ^place, 
God's  house,  and  another  day,  the  Lord's  Day,  be 
appropriated  for  the  discussion  of  such  themes,  and 
the  dissemination  of  worldly  knowledge,  thus  leav- 
ing the  great  God  without  a  temple  or  a  day  for 


"  THE  MEMORIAL  STONE."  233 

His  special  worsliip,  and  the  soul  without  a  home 
where  it  may  find  a  momentary  truce,  in  its  warrings 
with  the  world,  even  a  temporary  refuge  from  the  din 
of  party  strife;  where  it  may  hear  concerning  a  King- 
dom which  is  not  of  this  world,  and  of  a  rest  that 
remaineth  to  the  people  of  God  ? 

(3)  It  is  inexijedient.  Already  invading  the  sanc- 
tuaries of  our  land,  it  has  eaten  out  the  very  heart  of 
spirituality,  so  that  a  revival  of  God's  work  in  such 
Zions  is  an  anomaly ;  already  does  it  threaten  to  usurp 
a  permanently  paramount  place  in  the  house  of  God 
and  the  hearts  of  His  worshipers,  demanding,  even 
now,  conformity  to  its  political  creed,  as  essential  to 
Christian  fellowship.  Thereby  Christians  are  driven 
away  from  their  spiritual  homes  in  hitter  disappoint- 
ment. They  come  to  hear  the  things  of  eternal  life  ; 
to  be  edified,  upbuilt.  And  especially  in  such  days  of 
suffering  and  sorrow,  to  enjoy  the  consolations  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  sweet  comfortings  of  the  Spirit.  But 
alas  !  they  find  no  oasis  now  in  the  house  of  God  ; 
for  wells  of  salvation  and  shading  palms,  only  the 
monotonous  waste  of  burning  sand  ;  for  the  sincere 
milk  of  the  Word,  only  the  bitter  waters  of  Marah  ; 
while  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness  there  is  no  garment 
of  praise  ;  for  the  wounded  spirit,  no  balm  of  Gilead. 

And  what  is  the  effect  upon  loorldlings  ?  They 
depart  in  disgust  from  the  house  of  God,  doubting 
the  reality  and  value  of  Religion  because  of  this  coun- 
terfeit and  caricature  ;  and  how  can  the  effect  U2)on 
them  be  otherwise,  "  when  the  parishioner  sits  in  his 
20 


234  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

pew,  silent  and  still  by  custom,  decorum,  and  the 
manners  of  New  England,  and  the  preacher  turns 
upon  him  every  eye  in  the  congregation  for  the  poli- 
tics he  practices,  and  for  the  party  to  which  he  has 
attached  himself?  How  can  it  be  otherwise  when 
the  very  first  word  he  hears  in  jirayer,  the  very  first 
word  he  hears  in  a  hymn  selected  to  be  sung,  however 
well  it  may  be  sung,  and  by  whatever  choir,  the  very 
first  illustration  in  the  sermon  to  which  he  may  listen, 
sends  him  away  gloomy  and  irritable,  turns  the  whole 
service  into  a  political  mockery,  and  awakens  a  train 
of  reflection  that  renders  him,  from  first  to  last,  inac- 
cessible to  the  truth,  closes  his  ear  to  the  voice  of  the 
charmer,  charm  he  never  so  wisely  on  that  day  ?" 

Is  this  expedient  ?  No.  And  we  wonder  not  that 
multitudes  endorse  and  repeat  the  saying  of  Henry 
Clay,  and  give  it,  as  he  did,  as  the  reason  for  ceasing 
to  attend  a  certain  Church  : 

"  I  have  so  much  politics  all  the  week,  that  I  do 
not  care  to  go  to  Church  except  to  hear  the  Gospel." 

0  how  different  the  result,  if  ministers,  especially 
throughout  New  England,  held  the  views  and  imita- 
ted the  example  of  Rev.  Dr.  Dwight,  President  of 
Yale  College.  In  the  sermon  already  quoted,  and 
preached  in  the  Chapel  on  the  National  Fast,  August 
20th,  1812,  he  says  : 

"  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that,  in  the 
progress  of  my  ol^servations,  no  party  will  be  ar- 
raigned ;  the  character  of  no  i)erson  attacked  ;  no 
public  measure  censured  ;  and  the  feeling  of  no  indi- 


"  THE  MEMORIAL  STONE."  235 

vidiKil  wounded.  All  who  are  here,  or  all  who  are 
elsewhere,  will  be  considered  merely  as  creatures  of 
the  same  Grod  ;  as  bound  to  the  same  eternity  ;  as 
alike  interested  in  renouncing  sin  and  returning  to 
holiness  ;  and  as  bound  alike  to  regard  the  work  of 
the  Lord  as  the  operation  of  His  hand." 

0  how  different  the  result,  if  the  tribute  the  great 
Rufus  Choate  paid  his  Pastor,  could  be  truthfully 
given  to  every  minister  in  New  England  ;  if  every 
parishioner  could  assign  it,  as  he  did,  as  one  reason, 
not  for  leaving,  but  attending  Church.     He  says  : 

"  Every  one  of  us  assuredly  felt,  as  we  came  here 
from  Sunday  to  Sunday,  and  took  our  seats  in  our 
pews,  that  we  should  hear  nothing  in  the  world  but 
Religion  preached  from  the  pulpit,  and  no  manner  of 
politics.  State  or  National,  directly  or  indirectly  ; 
nothing  connected  in  the  remotest  degree  with  the 
party  considerations  or  organizations  of  the  day.  We 
came  here,  if  we  came  as  we  professed  we  did,  to  hear 
of  those  things  which  pertain  to  Religion,  to  the  sal- 
vation of  the  soul,  and  to  the  rest  everlasting.  And 
I  have  uniformly  found  it  to  be  true,  that  I  heard 
nothing,  was  assailed  by  nothing,  was  secularized  by 
nothing,  was  defended  or  attacked  by  nothing  which 
I  had  done,  nothing  for  which  I  had  voted  or  acted 
in  the  political  world  without.  Never  in  an  intro- 
ductory prayer,  never  in  a  hymn,  occasionally  or  in 
the  ordinary  course  of  public  worship  selected,  never 
by  any  illustration  in  any  sermon,  by  any  train  of 
association,  right  or  wrong,  was  I  carried  back  into 


236  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

the  world  that  I  had  left,  and  which  I  should  have 
been  willing,  for  that  day  at  least,  to  have  forgotten 
forever/'  * 

(4)  My  Ordination  Vows  forbid  it.  What  says 
the  Constitution  of  my  Church,  which  every  Presby- 
terian minister  in  his  ordination  vows  declares  "  he 
sincerely  receives  and  adopts  as  containing  the  system 
of  doctrines  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  ?  "  "  Syn- 
ods or  councils  are  to  handle  or  conclude  nothing  but 
what  is  ecclesiastical ;  and  are  not  to  intermeddle 
with  civil  affairs  which  concern  the  commonwealth." 
Can  this  be  a  reason  why  ordination  by  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  is  here  practically  repudiated  ?  And 
was  the  literal  f  alfillment  of  this  vow  by  me,  regarded 
as  equivalent  to  a  forfeiture  of  my  credentials  as  an 
ordained  minister  of  Jesus  ? 

However  this  may  be,  "  It  is  a  very  small  thing  that 
I  should  be  judged  of  man's  judgment ! "  Man's  judg- 
ment cannot  affect  my  views  of  duty  while  I  believe 
them  to  be  right  in  the  judgment  and  sight  of  God  ; 
and  therefore  I  still  say  with  a  brother  minister, 
"  that  the  point  from  which  I  regard  and  deal  with 
men  has  never  been  as  citizens  of  the  commonwealth 
having  civil  duties  to  perform,  but  as  '  fallen  sinners, 
having  need  of  salvation  ; '  and  the  great  thing  at 
which  I  have  aimed,  and  to  which  I  have  subordi- 
nated every  thing  else,  is,  to  bring  them  to  the  Cross, 
to  reconcile  them  to  God  through  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  and  to  imbue  them  with  the  Spirit  of  the 

*  See  Mcmoriiil  Volume,  pp.  ?>2,  38.' 


"the  MEMORIAL  STONE."  237 

Divine  Master.  In  saying  this,  I  neither  forget  nor 
ignore  the  fact  that  I  am  the  authorized  expounder 
of  Kevelation,  which  touches  the  entire  circle  of 
human  duty.  But  I  hokl  this  to  be  true,  that  when 
men  have  an  intellectual  acquaintance  with  their  civil 
or  social  duties,  the  speediest,  most  effectual  way  to 
bring  them  to  their  performance,  is,  to  press  upon  their 
hearts  and  consciences  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Cross. 
The  all-comprehending  source  of  sin  is  alienation  from 
God.  Bring  men  back  to  God,  and  you  bring  them 
back  to  the  performance  of  all  known  duties."  This 
has  been  my  theory  and  practice  during  the  nine  years 
of  my  ministry,  and  ever  ivill  he.     Amen. 

(5)  It  is  mocking  the  Wants  of  the  Immortal  Soul. 
In  the  house  of  God  the  gospel  feast  is  spread. 
Ministers  of  God,  servants  at  the  table,  extend  the 
invitation, — "  Come,  for  all  things  are  now  ready  ;" 
"  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money  and  with- 
out price.  Wherefore  do  ye  spend  your  money  for 
that  which  is  not  bread  ?  and  your  labor  for  that 
which  satisfieth  not  ?  hearken  diligently  unto  me, 
and  eat  ye  that  which  is  good,  and  let  your  soul  de- 
light itself  in  fatness  !"  See !  yon  hungry  soul 
hears,  believes,  comes,  "  to  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord 
is  good."  It  approaches,  and  from  the  rich  pro- 
visions, asks  for  bread — the  minister  gives  him  this 
*'  stone  ;"  he  asks  for  meat — the  minister  gives  him 
this  "serpent ;"  and  with  immortal  hungerings  unsat- 
isfied, the  soul  departs,  mocked,  betrayed,  poisoned, 


stung. 


20* 


238  REV.  MR.  CARROLL'S  SERMON, 

Behold  that  blind  man  ;  it  is  Bartimeus.  "  They 
have  let  him  know  that  the  healer  of  the  blind  is 
near  ;  and  I  am  sure  that  nothing  they  could  say- 
about  anything  else,  could  make  up  for  not  telling 
him  that.  The  most  eloquent  harangue  on  the  poli- 
tics of  the  times,  though  Pilate,  and  Herod,  and 
Caesar,  and  Roman  eagles,  and  Jewish  banners,  and 
liberty,  and  nationality,  and  destiny,  had  rolled  with 
splendid  imagery  through  sounding  periods,  would 
have  been  a  sad  exchange  for  those  simple  words, — 
'  Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by.'  Nor  would  Aristo- 
tle's keenest  logic,  nor  Plato's  finest  speculations,  have 
served  a  whit  better.  The  man  was  blind,  and  wanted 
his  eyes  opened  ;  and  these  things,  however  set  forth, 
were  but  trash  and  mockery." — '■^  Blind  Bartimeus," 
pp.  83-84. 

(6)  It  degrades  and  divides  the  Church  of  God. 

It  degrades  the  Church.  Edward  Everett  in  a 
sermon  "On  the  dedication  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  New  York,"  administers  a  pertinent 
rebuke  to  those  ministers  and  disciples  of  Christ  who 
insist  upon  generating  secular  associations  and  kind- 
ling wordly  excitements  in  the  house  of  God,  by  the 
introduction  of  political  themes.  He  says :  "  We 
dedicate  our  house  to  God  ;  to  no  earthly  power,  to 
no  human  name,  but  to  God,  who  reigns  on  high.  It 
is  henceforth  not  ours,  but  His  ;  we  resign,  devote 
and  consecrate  it  to  Him."  "  We  dedicate  it  to  the 
o-lorious  cause  of  tlie  gospel.  It  is  sacred  henceforth 
to  that  alone.     Let  no  other  message  be  ever  heard 


"the  memorial  stone."  239 

within  its  walls  ;  no  human  science,  no  learning  or 
art  of  this  world  ;  no  case  or  interest  which  begins  or 
ends  with  man  ;  but  the  holy  faith  of  the  Son  of  God 
and  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus."  Any  other  course 
than  this  we  believe  degrades  the  Church  by  making 
her  the  partner  of  the  State,  and  at  length  its  tool  and 
servant.  This  accomplished,  and  her  dishonor  and 
degradation  are  complete.  Polluted  by  the  hand  of 
secular  power  ;  her  fair  robes  rent  and  soiled  ;  her 
head  bowed  and  crownless  ;  her  hands  chained  to 
Caesar's  chariot  wheels  ;  behold  the  once  fair  bride  of 
Christ  ! 

Such  a  course  of  necessity  divides  the  Church. 
It  is  the  procuring  and  i)rolific  cause  of  ecclesiastical 
schism.  Breaking  down  the  partition  wall,  the  world 
comes  in  upon  her  like  a  flood.  The  excitements  and 
storms  shaking  the  State,  sweep  over  and  convulse  the 
Church.  How  fully  does  the  history  of  the  Church, 
especially  in  our  own  country,  manifest  this  fact  : 
once  introduce  questions  agitating  the  commonwealth 
into  the  sanctuary — once  sow  this  wind,  and  you  reap 
the  whirlwind.  You  light  the  flame  which  burns  out 
spirituality  and  Christian  charity  ;  start  the  wedge 
that  drives  through  and  disrupts  whole  denomina- 
tions of  Christians  ;  seize  the  sword  that  rends  in 
twain  the  seamless -robe,  and  hews  the  perfect  body 
of  Christ.  Hence  the  jealous  care  with  which  the 
Apostles  guarded  the  infant  Church  from  the  political 
conflicts  of  their  day.  Hence  their  refusal  to  iden- 
tify the  Christian  Church  with  the  government  of 


240  REV.  MR.  CARROLL'S  SERMON, 

Jew  or  Gentile.  The  great  secret  of  their  success  in 
organizing  and  establishing  Churches  in  the  various 
countries  through  which  they  passed,  and  amid  <;ivil 
revolutions  and  convulsions,  was  this :  Apostolic 
ercclusion  of  the  secular,  and  inclusion  only  of  the 
spiritual.  It  was  the  ignoring  of  this  principle — the 
obliteration  of  this  demarcation  and  distinction — the 
departure  of  ministers  and  Churches  from  Apostolic 
and  primitive  Church  examples,  that  caused  her  sub- 
sequent and  signal  defeats  ;  her  comparatively  few 
and  feeble  triumphs  ;  and  in  this  land  at  least,  has 
written  "Icliabud"  on  Llio  Church  of  God. 

True,  as  mi^niDraljle,  are  the  words  of  Edmund 
Burke  :  "  Politics  and  the  pidpit  are  terms  that  have 
little  agreement.  No  sound  ought  to  be  heard  in  tlie 
Church  but  the  voice  of  healing  charity.  The  cause 
of  civil  liberty  and  civil  government  gains  as  little  as 
that  of  Keligion  by  this  confusion  of  duties.  Those 
who  quit  their  proper  character  to  assume  what  does 
not  belong  to  them,  are,  for  the  greater  part,  ignorant 
both  of  the  cliaracter  they  leave  and  the  c}iaracter 
they  assume.  Wholly  unacquainted  with  the  world 
in  which  they  are  so  fond  of  meddling,  and  inexperi- 
enced in  all  its  aifairs,  on  which  they  pronounce  with 
so  much  confidence,  they  have  nothing  of  politics 
but  the  passions  they  excite.  Surely  the  Churcli  is  a 
])lace  where  one  day's  truce  ought  to  be  allowed  to 
the  dissensions  and  animosities  of  mankind." 

r  am  aware  tliat  th(>se  views  concerning  the  sphere 
and  duties  of  the  gospel  ministry  in  this  respect,  are 


"the  memorial  stone."  241 

in  direct  antagonism  to  those  of  the  Congregational 
ministry  here,  and  that  this  difference  is  regarded  by 
them  as  radical  and  essential  ;  so  much  so,  that  from 
a  candidate  who  is  not  prepared  to  conform  to  their 
views  and  practice  in  this  i)articular,  license  is  some- 
times withheld.  My  convictions  of  duty  are  strong 
and  conscientious  ;  and  being  so,  cannot  be  abandoned 
to  jjlease  men,  or  to  escape  their  frown.  And  if  for 
excluding  politics  from  my  ministrations  in  a  Congre- 
gational Church,  I  am  utterly  isolated,  and  stand 
alone  in  this  city,  or  even  in  all  New  England,  I  can 
well  afford  to  be  singular.  If  for  the  maintenance  of 
this  principle  I  am  persecuted,  I  glory  in  persecution. 
For  one,  I  had  ratlier  he  proscribed  for  unsiverving 
fidelity,  and  adherence  to  my  convictions  of  duty, 
than,  for  a  craven  abandonment  or  a  criminal  com- 
promise of  them,  to  be  enthroned.  I  w^ould  fain  say 
with  Pau],  "  None  of  these  things  move  me  ;  neither 
count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might 
finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  I 
have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel 
of  the  grace  of  God."  Archbishop  Leighton  was 
once  asked  why  he  did  not  jjreach  more  to  the  times. 
His  answer  was  :  "  0,  while  so  many  are  preaching 
to  iXiQ  times,  give  me,  at  least,  leave  to  preach  to 
the  eternities."     Be  his  reply  ever  mine  ! 

4th. — Deliverance  from  Death. 
Only  four  adults  have  died  within  the  past    two 
years,  (although  tiventy-seven  of  our  members  have 


242  REV.  MR.  CARROLL'S  SERMON, 

been  exposed  to  sudden  death  in  the  army  and  navy,) 
and  ^^all  these  died  in  faith." 

Mid  the  thunder  of  artillery,  in  the  thickest  of  the 
furious  contest,  just  where  Death  was  holding  such 
high  carnival ;  from  the  bloody  hill-side  of  Freder- 
icksburg ;  there  went  up  the  gentle  spirit  of  a  young 
man,* — son,  husband,  father,  church  member,  Sab- 
bath School  teacher, — to  the  holy  hill  of  Mount 
Zion  above,  where  grim  visaged  war,  with  its  rude 
alarms,  and  fierce  baptisms,  and  crimsoned  graves,  i^ 
known  no  more ;  where  peace,  sacred  and  serene,  for- 
ever dwells ;  where  is  the  rest  that  "  remaineth  ;" 
where,  with  the  God  of  peace,  he  shall  spend  the 
Eternity  of  heaven,  in  the  rest  of  serving  of  God. 

"  Do  yon  mourn  when  another  star 

Shines  out  in  the  ghttering  sky? 
Do  you  weep  when  the  noise  of  war 

And  the  rage  of  conflict  die? 
Then  let  not  your  tears  roll  down 

And  your  hearts  be  sorely  riven, 
For  another  gem  in  the  Savior's  crown, 

And  another  soul  in  Heaven!" 

Within  siijrht  of  this  church,  from  the  bosom  of  his 
family, — listening  to  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise, 
heavenly  melodies  filling  the  soul,  like  the  notes  that 
come  floating  down  to  us  from  the  harps  of  the  angels, 
— passed  aAvay  the  aged  disciple  and  church  officer. f 
As  we  bent  over  him  adying,  "my  father  !  my  father  ! 
the  chariot  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof,"  fell 
from  our  lips,  as  he  made  his  glorious  exodus  to  the 

*  Thomas  E.  Barrett.  f  Deacon  Benedict  Burwell. 


"the  memorial  stone."  243 

Eternal.'  As  we  stood  around  his  grave,  we  tran- 
scribed the  lines  from  Machpelah  to  his  headstone, 
— the  epitaph  of  Abraham,  written  by  no  human 
hand, — "An  old  man  and  full."  "  An  old  man  \" 
— Yes,  we  see  the  patriarch  in  the  wasted  face ; 
in  the  dimmed  eye  ;  in  the  furrowed  brow  ;  in  the 
trembling  hand  ;  in  the  hoary  head,  whitened  by  the 
frosts  of  four-score  winters,  yet  unto  him  a  crown  of 
glory,  because  "found  in  the  way  of  righteousness," — 
covered  with  snow,  yet,  like  the  mountain-top,  because 
nearest  unto  heaven. 

And  "full," — full,  like  Abraham,  not  merely  "of 
years,"  but  of  experience,  not  earthly  only,  but  hea- 
venly,— the  favor  and  friendship  of  God  ;  like  him, 
full  of  graces,  not  human,  but  divine, — obedience, 
prayer,  faith  ;  like  him,  full  of  anticipations,  not 
bounded  by  the  horizon  of  earth,  but  sweeping  be- 
yond the  shadows  of  time  and  the  gloom  of  death, — 
looking  for  Christ ;  and  he  too  "saw  His  day  and  was 
glad,"  clasping  Him  in  his  dying  arms,  "the  antidote 
of  death  ;"  looking  for  "  a  city"  too, — and  lo  !  break- 
ing on  the  dying  vision,  bathed  in  supernal  splendor, 
are  the  jasper  foundations,  the  sapphire  walls,  the 
golden  street  of  that  "  city  whose  builder  and  maker 
is  God,"  What  anticipations  these  !  full-orbed  hopes 
of  seeing  Jesus,  and  of  entering  where,  with  no  shadow 
on  the  heart,  no  tear-drop  in  the  eye,  with  golden  crown 
on  the  brow,  and  palm  branch  of  victory  in  the  hand, 
he  should  be  "  presented  before  the  presence  of  God's 
glory  with  exceeding  joy."     And  of  these  hopes  he 


244  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

was  "full."  And  see,  as  he  rises  to  the  realization  of 
them — as  the  celestial  convoy,  upbearing  him  on  im- 
mortal wings,  nears  the  radiant  hills,  exultingly  chant- 
ing, "  lift  up  your  heads,  0  ye  gates" — lo  !  these  gates 
of  flashing  pearl  wide  open  swing,  while  angel  and 
archangel  wake  their  harps  to  louder,  loftier  strains, 
sweeping  them  to  the  hallelujah  anthem  of  Heaven's 
Harvest  Home,  because  another  matured  soul  has  been 
ingathered  to  the  garner  of  glory,  "  as  a  shock  of  corn 
cometh  in  in  his  season,"  ripe  and  "  full."  Mid  heav- 
enly music,  re-echoing  his  epitaph — "  full" — bending 
before  the  throne  to  receive  into  his  soul  "  fullness  of 
joy,"  yea,  "  the  fullness  of  the  God-head," — we  leave 
him. 

Not  on  the  battle-plain,  none  by  to  quench  the 
death-thirst  or  wipe  the  death-dew  from  the  brow, 
but  at  home,  mid  its  gentle,  loving  ministries, — a 
home  fragrant  Avith  the  incense  of  prayer,  and  per- 
fumed with  the  name  of  Jesus, — we  saw  the  other 
soldier*  member  die. 

Standing  by  the  bedside,  where  pain  had  made 
stone  the  downy  pillow,  we  saw  that  scene  of  suffer- 
ing transfigured  into  a  Bethel,  with  its  vision,  and 
typical  ladder  leaned  against  the  sky ;  saw  the  cham- 
l)er,  darkened  l)y  the  death-wing,  made  lustrous  with 
the  flashing  of  angel  pinions,  hovering  there  to  carry 
the  fluttering  soul,  all  radiant  and  ready,  to  the 
pearly  gates  of  its  liome  !  As  the  j^ulse  grew  weaker, 
and  the  breath  shorter,  the  heart  was  fuller  and  the 

*  John  Crosby. 


"the  memorial  stone."  245 

lips  more  eloquent  with  prayer  and  gratitude.  He 
consoles  the  little  group  gathered  round  to  catch  his 
last,  hallowed  accents,  with  thoughts  of  a  brighter 
world,  where  sorrow  never  enters  ;  where  farewell 
tears  are  never  shed  ;  where  are  no  griefs  nor  graves  ; 
where  no  harp  ever  wails  the  sorrows  of  a  hleeding  or 
a  broken  heart.  Kindling  visions  of  that  w^orld  are 
his  ;  heaven  reveals  its  light  and  song,  its  triumj)hs 
and  eternal  transports,  to  allure  ;  God  unveils  His 
throne ;  Christ,  "  the  brightness  of  the  Father's 
glory,"  flooding  the  death-couch  with  heavenly  splen- 
dor, appears,  fulfilling  His  promise,  "  I  will  come 
again,  and  receive  you  unto  myself ;"  while  celestial 
voices,  breaking  on  the  dying  ear,  say,  "come  up 
hither."  Leaning  forward,  as  if  responsive  to  the 
celestial  call,  the  wan  face  reflecting  the  smile  of  God, 
from  his  faltering  lips  falls  the  mystic  monosyllable, — 
" up"  Hark  !  again,  with  beaming  eye  stiJl  riveted 
upon  "  the  excellent  glory,"  and  with  arms  uplifted, 
anticipating  ascension,  is  heard  the  key-note  of  the 
heavenly  harper's  song,  ^'■up" — ^  come  up  hither;' 
and  he  went. 

In  faith,  also,  the  female  member*  and  mother  died. 
Disease  had  long  marked  her  for  its  victim.  Con- 
sumption laid  its  skeleton  hand  upon  her,  and  flat- 
tered even  unto  death,  imparting  a  hectic  glow  for 
the  warm  bloom  of  health, — autumn's  leaf  for  the 
rose.     Plying  its  stealthy,  deceptive   sapping  at  the 

*  Mrs.  Anna  F.  Gillette. 
21 


246  REV.  MR.  CARROLL'S  SERMON, 

very  root  of  life,  the  tree  at  length  fell,  with  thick 
foliage  and  clustering  fruitage  still  upon  it.  Wasting 
daily  during  a  lingering  illness,  yet  no  murmuring,  no 
repining.  To  the  last  "  her  spirit,  like  frankincense, 
gave  forth  increasing  sweeetness  the  more  the  corpo- 
real part  was  consumed."  And  when  the  summons 
came,  calmly  she  looked  upon  Death,  not  as  the  ter- 
ror-crowned one,  hut  as  a  kind  messenger  from  her 
Father's  house,  and  clasped  his  hand,  that  he  might 
lead  her,  a  weary  and  long  ahsent  child,  home. 

Besides  these,  and  these  prepared,  no  adults  have 
died,  and  only  four  of  our  little  ones, — lamhs  trans- 
ferred to  the  arms  and  fold  of  the  Good  Shepherd. 
And  I  always  thank  God,  when,  descending  to  the 
brink  of  Jordan,  little  hands  press  mine,  and  when 
it  is  the  loving  spirit  of  a  confiding  child  I  there 
anoint.  For  "  verily  to  the  eye  of  faith,  nothing  is 
fairer  than  the  death  of  young  children.  Sight  and 
sense  indeed  recoil  from  it.  The  flower,  that  like  a 
breathing  rose  filled  the  heart  and  home  with  an 
exquisite  delight, — alas,  we  are  stricken  with  sore 
anguish  to  find  its  stem  broken  and  the  blossom  gone  ! 
But  unto  Faith,  eagle-eyed  beyond  mental  vision, 
and  winged,  to  mount,  like  the  singing  lark,  over  the 
fading  rainbow  unto  the  blue  heaven — even  this  is 
touchingly  lovely.  The  child's  earthly  ministry  was 
well  done — for  the  rose  does  it  work  as  grandly  in 
blossom  as  the  vine  with  its  fruit.  And  having  helped 
to  sanctify  and  lift  heavenward  the  very  hearts  that 
broke  at  its  farewell,  it  hag  gone  from  this  troublous 


"the  memorial  stone."  247 

• 

sphere,  ere  the  winds  chilled  or  the  rains  stained  it, 
leaving  the  world  it  blessed,  and  the  skies  through 
which  it  passed,  still  sweet  with  its  lingering  fragrance, 
to  its  glory,  us  an  ever-unfolding  flower  in  the  blessed 
Garden  of  God  !  Surely  prolonged  life  on  earth  hath 
no  boon  like  this  !  For  such  mortal  loveliness  to  put 
on  immortality — to  rise  from  the  carnal  with  so  little 
memory  of  earth  that  the  mother's  cradle  seemed  to 
have  been  rocked  in  the  house  of  many  mansions — 
to  have  no  experience  of  a  wearied  mind  and  chilled 
affections,  but  from  a  child's  joyous  heart,  growing 
up  into  the  power  of  an  archangelic  intellect — to  be 
raptured  as  a  blessed  babe  through  the  gates  of  Par- 
adise. Ah  !  this  is  better  than  to  w^atch  as  an  old 
Prophet  for  the  car  of  fire  in  the  valley  of  Jordan." 

Come,  my  people,  come,  and  sadly,  yet  smiling 
through  our  tears,  let  us  set  up  the  stone,  and  on  it 
an  "  Ebenezer"  too,  when  it  is  a  memorial  unto  us  of 
'•'  garnered  immortaliiy."  ^ 

Great  deliverances,  or  exemptions  from  evil,  imply 
great  positive  blessings.  To  some  of  these  I  have 
alluded  in  passing.  Others  must  be  omitted  for 
want  of  time.  But  I  cannot  forbear  to  dwell  for  a 
moment, — 

Lastly, — Upon  the  Positive  Features  of  our 
Deliverance  from  Spiritual  Declension,  so  far 
at  least  as  they  are  shown  by  outiuard  results, — and 
for  them  to  raise  the  monumental  pillar. 


248  REV.  MR,  Carroll's  sermon, 

To  place  these  results  in  a  stronger  light,  I  will 
compare  the  number  of  admissions  into  this  Church 
during  the  two  years  of  my  ministry  here,  with  those 
of  the  years  immediately  preceding,  and  also  with 
those  of  other  Congregational  Churches  in  this  city 
and  State.  This  I  do,  not  in  a  spirit  of  vain-glory, — 
God  forbid  such  a  thought, — but  to  correct  an  im- 
pression industriously  and  joerseveringly  circulated  iii 
the  community,  to  the  effect  that  this  Church  was  in 
a  highly  prosperous  condition  when  I  took  charge  of 
it,  but  that  it  has  since  dwindled  in  numbers,  and 
almost  fallen  to  pieces.  Let  us  never  forget,  that 
whatever  of  good  there  is  within  us  or  about  us, — 
whatever  blessing  is  bestowed  upon  us, — is  the  free 
gift  of  our  dear  God  in  Ciirist,  to  whom  be  all  the 
glory. 

There  have  been  received  into  this  Church  during 
the  two  years  of  my  ministry  here,  fifty-nine  mem- 
bers, viz  :  forty-one  by  profession,  and  eighteen  by 
certificate  from  other  Churches.  The  number  sepa- 
rated from  us  during  the  same  period,  commencing 
1st  June,  1862,  is  sixty-three,  viz  :  fifty-seven  by 
certificate,  two  by  discipline,  and  four  by  death.  The 
number  admitted  is  exactly  equal  to  the  number  dis- 
missed by  certificate  and  by  discipline  :  Death  is  the 
only  enemy  that  has  made  any  encroachments  U2)on  us, 
beyond  what,  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  have  been  able 
to  meet  and  overcome.  But  death  has  been  foiled  in 
his  efforts,  for  each  victim  was  crowned  a  conqueror, 
exclaiming,  ''  0,  death,  where  is  thy  sting."     These 


"the  MEMORIAL  STONE."  249 

results,  viewed  in  connection  with  the  extraordinary- 
efforts  which  have  been  made,  both  within  and  with- 
out the  Church,  to  crush  it  out,  unless  we  would 
yield  to  the  dictation  of  others  as  to  the  topics  which 
should  be  introduced  into  the  pulpit,  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  should  be  discussed,  are  indeed  most 
encouraging.  Of  those  who  have  voluntarily  with- 
drawn during  the  period  mentioned,  forty-three  are 
supposed  to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  movement 
which  culminated  in  the  calling  of  an  ex-parte  Coun- 
cil ;  leaving  a  gain  of  fourteen,  so  far  as  that  move- 
ment was  concerned.  It  is  due  to  verity,  however, 
to  state,  that  quite  a  number  of  the  families  repre- 
sented in  this  movement,  and  even  of  these  Church 
members,  have  seldom  attended  the  services  of  this 
sanctuary,  during  my  ministry  ;  so  that  what  would 
seem  to  be  a  loss  to  us,  is  in  many,  if  not  most  cases, 
a  gain."  It  is  surely  a  gain  to  be  freed  from  a  disturb- 
ing element,  which  never  could  be  pacified  except  by 
yielding  to  its  dictation.  It  is  a  gain  to  feel  that  we 
are  speaking  to  friends,  and  that  as  a  Church  and 
people  we  are  united.  As  au  illustration  of  our 
essential  unity  since  the  withdrawal  of  disaffected 
members,  it  may  be  remarked  that  only  in  a  single 
instance  within  the  last  ten  months,  has  there  been  a 
dissenting  voice  on  any  question  before  ilie  Church. 

If  we  now  proceed   to   compare   the  above  results 

with   those  of  the   tivo  years  next  previous  to  my 

coming  among  you,  we  shall  find  still  further  cause 

for  gratulation  and   encouragement.     During   those 

21» 


250  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

two  years,  commencing  1st  June,  1860,  and  ending 
1st  June,  1862,  forty-five  members  were  dismissed 
by  certificate,  discipline  and  death,  and  only  nineteen 
received,  viz  :  six  by  profession  (three  in  each  year,) 
and  thirteen  by  certificate  :  showing  a  net  loss  of 
twenty-six  members  during  those  two  years,  over  and 
above  the  admissions. 

If  we  go  back  yet  another  year,  viz  :  from  1st 
June,  1859,  to  1st  June,  1860,  we  find  again  that 
only  three  persons  were  admitted  by  profession,  and 
eleven  by  certificate.  Thus  it  appears,  that  during 
these  three  years,  commencing  June,  1859,  only  nine 
persons  were  added  by  profession  (three  in  each  year), 
and  twenty-four  by  certificate,  (averaging  eight  in 
each  year.) 

Undoubtedly,  taking  the  whole  period  of  eleven 
and  a  half  years  since  its  organization,  this  Church 
has  been  blessed  in  a  remarkable  degree  ;  especially 
during  the  incumbency  of  Kev.  Dr.  Stiles.  God 
blessed  it ;  numbers  came  to  listen  to  the  powerful 
2>reaching  of  the  minister  ;  and  very  soon  a  revival 
commenced,  which  resulted  in  the  conversion  of 
many,  and  their  admission  to  the  Church.  On  the 
first  day  this  sanctuary  was  opened,  (last  Sabbath  in 
June,  1852,)  the  services  resulted  in  the  conversion 
of  a  confirmed  sceptic,  who,  a  few  months  after- 
wards, united  with  this  Church,  and  has  ever  since 
adorned  his  profession.  The  Church  was  organized 
November  8th,  1852,  with  twenty-nine  members, 
gathered  from  ten  different  Churches,  in  three  States, 


"the  memorial  stone."  251 

and  representing  three  denominations  of  Christians. 
In  the  following  month  eight  more  were  admitted, 
five  of  them  by  profession,  making  a  total  in  1852  of 
tlm^ty-seven.  In  1853  forty-seven  were  received — 
including  twenty-six  by  profession.  In  1854,  thirty- 
two,  including  seventeen  by"  profession.  In  1855, 
fifty-four,  including  thirty-five  by  profession.  Thus 
far,  and  indeed  for  some  time  longer,  there  was  no 
collision  of  opinion  among  the  members, — for  all 
were  satisfied  with  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  word. 
Secular  and  political  or  semi-political  affairs  were 
considered,  as  a  matter  of  course,  excluded  from  the 
pulpit.  Nobody  expressed  a  desire  for  their  intro- 
duction. But  in  process  of  time  the  enemy  came 
and  sowed  tares.  He  could  not  permit 'a  work  of  so 
much  promise  to  go  on  unimpeded.  He  whispered 
to  some,  as  he  did  to  the  mother  of  our  race,  that 
they  ought  to  know  both  good  and  evil ;  they  ought 
to  be  enlightened  on  all  subjects  in  any  way  con- 
nected, or  supposed  to  be  connected,  with  religion 
and  morals  ;  and  who  but  the  minister  should  teach 
them  !  The  rest  is  too  recently  and  too  well  known, 
to  require  repetition  here.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  a 
kind  Providence,  in  a  way  that  we  knew  not,  and 
should  not  have  chosen,  has  freed  us  from  these  de- 
structive influences,  and  opened  before  us  new  visions 
of  prosperity  and  i)eace. 

Our  present  number  is  170  ;  of  whom  50  are  males, 
and  120  females.  The  whole  number  who  are,  or 
have  been  members,  is  338.     Of  these,  184  were  ad- 


252  REV.  MR.  CARROLL'S  SERMON, 

mitted  by  profession,  and  154  by  certificate.  Of 
the  168  who  have  been  members,  but  are  not  so  at 
present,  73  were  admitted  by  profession,  and  95  by 
certificate.  Of  the  whole  number  dismissed,  23  were 
removed  by  death,  5  by  discipline,  and  140  by  cer- 
tificate. 

The  addition  of  59  members,  in  the  two  years  just 
closed,  (41  by  profession,  18  by  letter,)  is  more  man- 
ifestly a  cause  of  special  gratitude  to  God,  because  it 
has  occurred  during  a  period  of  great  depression  in 
the  Churches  generally,  throughout  the  State  and 
nation. 

Now  compare  this  general  resume  with  that  of  the 
Congregational  Churches  in  the  State.  From  the  min- 
utes of  the  General  Association,  covering  the  last  year 
of  which  we  have  returns,  (the  calendar  year  1862,) 
we  find  that  the  aggregate  number  of  persons  admit- 
ted to  all  the  Congregational  Churches  in  Connecticut 
by  profession,  was  83  less  than  the  number  removed 
by  death.  In  the  same  document,  page  104,  we  find 
this  further  general  review :  "  For  the  last  four 
years,  187  Churches,  two  thirds  of  the  whole  num- 
ber, have  lost  more  by  death  than  they  have  gained 
by  profession.  In  these  years,  ten  large  Churches — 
only  one  of  them  a  city  Church — with  2,633  mem- 
bers, have  added  only  nine  by  profession,  while  they 
have  lost  233  by  death  ;  twenty-six  times  as  many 
as  they  have  added.  In  the  last  five  years — 1858  to 
1862 — 4  Churches,  with  170  members,  have  added 
none  by  profession.     In  the  last  four  years — 1859  to 


"the  memorial  stone."  253 

1862 — 28  Churches,  with  2,672  members,  have  added 
none  by  profession.  In  the  last  three  years — 1860  to 
1S62— 45  Churches,  with  4,747  members,  have  added 
none  by  profession.  In  the  last  two  years — 1861  and 
1862 — 83  Churches,  with  9,447  members,  have  added 
none  by  profession.  In  the  last  year,  127  Churches, 
with  15,851  members,  have  added  none  by  profession. 
For  the  last  four  years — 1859  to  1862 — from  one-third 
to  one-half  of  our  Churches,  yearly,  have  not  added 
one  by  profession."  Dr.  Cleaveland,  in  his  report  to 
the  Association,  (page  51.)  says:  "In  1859,  110 
Churches,  with  14,184  members,  gained  not  one  from 
the  world.  In  1860,  136  Churches,  with  19,323  mem- 
bers, were  alike  fruitless.  In  1861,  146  Churches, 
more  than  one-half  our  whole  number,  with  19,685 
members,  received  not  one  by  profession." 

Compare,  now,  the  statistics  of  this  Churcli  during 
the  past  tivo  years  of  my  ministry  here,  with  those  of 
other  Congregational  Churches  in  Connecticut  during 
the  two  calendar  years  1861  and  1862.  (No  later 
returns  have  yet  been  published.)  We  find  that  only 
one  of  the  285  Churches  in  this  State  received  so 
large  a  number  of  members  by  profession  in  these 
years  as  have  been  admitted  into  this  Church  during 
the  past  two  years.  Tliat  one  Church  received  42 
members  by  profession  ;  this  Church,  41.  I  also  find 
that  only  two  of  the  285  Churches  received  a  larger 
aggregate  of  members,  including  those  admitted  on 
certificate,  than  have  been  received  into  this  Church 
during  the  past  two  years.     One  of  these  Churches 


254  REV.  MR.  Carroll's  sermon, 

received  an  aggregate  of  74  in  two  years  ;  the  other, 
65,     This  Church,  59. 

And  how  does  our  record  compare  with  that  of  the 
Congregational  Churches  in  Neio  Haven  ? 

According  to  the  Association  statistics,  the  number 
of  members  admitted  into  the  North  Church  by  pro- 
fession during  the  two  calendar  years  1861  and  1862, 
was  25 ;  Centre  Church,  16  ;  College  Street  Church,  8  : 
Howe  Street  Church,  7  ;  Yale  College  Church,  9  ; 
Chapel  Street  Church,  7  ;  Temple  Street  Church,  2  ; 
Davenport  Chapel,  (no  Church  in  1861,)  5  ;  Third 
Congregational  Church,  3 ;  Fair  Haven  First,  1 ;  Fair 
Haven  Second,  1 ;  Fair  Haven  Centre,  4 ;  Westville,  2  ; 
Total  in  two  years,  90.  To  the  South  Church,  in  two 
years,  have  been  admitted  by  profession,  41  ;  or  nearly 
half  as  many  as  the  total  admitted  to  the  other  13 
Churches  in  two  years. 

Yet  Churches,  whose  barrenness  and  unfruitful- 
ness  appall  us,  sit  in  judgment  on  this  Zion,  whose 
record  is  so  favorable  when  compared  with  years 
immediately  preceding  in  our  own  history,  or  when 
compared  with  the  Churches  of  this  city  and  State. 
Is  it  for  this  we  are  adjudged  guilty  of  having  signally 
failed  to  accomplish  the  legitimate  objects  of  the 
institution  of  the  Church  of  God,  and  declared  to 
have  forfeited  all  claims  to  be  considered  as  a  Christ- 
ian Church  ? 

Dr.  Cleveland,  in  his  report,  mourning  over  the 
lamentable  condition  of  the  Churches,  and  hinting 
at  one  of  the  causes,  says  : 


"the  memorial  stone."  255 

"  It  becomes  us  to  be  on  our  guard,  lest  any  of  the 
great  doctrines  of  grace,  which  in  all  ages  have  been 
the  wisdom  and  power  of  God  unto  salvation,  should 
be  eclipsed  by  nearer,  but  infinitely  less  important 
objects." 

And  it  is  a  fair  question  to  ask,  how  much  of  this 
failure  of  the  great  object  of  pulpit  ministrations  is 
chargeable  to  the  admixture  of  foreign  ingredients, 
which  have  blunted  the  edge  of  truth,  and  kindled 
worldly  excitements  and  associations  by  the  very 
means  which  should  have  led  men  to  repentance, 
and  on  the  day  set  apart  by  God  Himself  for  His 
especial  service  and  worship  ?  I  presume  not  to 
decide  ;  but  I  am  sure  that  there  is  nothing  in  these 
results  which  should  lead  this  Church  or  its  minis- 
ter to  depart  from  the  course  they  have  pursued,  of 
preaching  and  desiring  to  hear  in  this  sacred  place, 
and  on  this  holy  day,  onhj  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus, 
— the  truth  which  converts,  sanctifies  and  saves. 

O,  then,  brethren,  as  we  set  up  this  stone, — memo- 
rial of  so  many  fruits  of  the  spirit — of  positive  spir- 
itual blessings  in  Christ  Jesus — for  this  Ebenezer  of 
the^as^,  let  us  call  upon  our  hearts,  and  all  that  is 
within  us,  to  bless  God's  holy  name. 

"  Come,  thou  fount  of  every  blessing, 
Tune  my  heart  to  sing  thy  grace; 
Streams  of  mercy  never  ceasing 
Call  for  songs  of  ceaseless  praise. 

Here  I  raise  my  Ebenezer, 
Hither  by  thy  help  I'm  come ; 


256  REV,  MR.  CARROLL'S  SERMON, 

And  I  hope  by  thy  good  pleasure, 
Safely  to  arrive  at  home. 


0,  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor 

Daily  I'm  constrained  to  be  1 
Let  that  grace,  Lord,  like  a  fetter, 

Bind  my  wandering  lieart  to  thee. 

•  Prone  to  wander,  Lord,  I  feel  it ; 

Prone  to  leave  the  God  I  love  ; 
Here's  ni}'  heart,  0  take  and  seal  it, 
Seal  it  for  thy  courts  above.'' 

To  conclude  : — 

Let  God's  watch  and  ward  through  these  ordeal 
years,  His  precious  deliverances  and  positive  bless- 
ings, quichen  our  faith,  and  impel  to  greater  effort 
during  the  new  year  which  dawns  so  brightly  on  us 
to-day.  Think  not  the  stone  we  set  uj)  here,  and 
now,  is  merely  an  Eben-ezer  of  the  past ;  it  is  likewise 
an  Eben-ezer  unto  the  future..  Then,  let  memory 
and  hope  be  busy  ;  while  one  recalls  divine  goodness, 
let  the  other  anticipate  divine  aid  ;  and  while  recol- 
lection of  past  guardianship  insjHres  re-dedication 
and  re-consecration,  let  expectation  of  a  helping 
Omnipotence  urge  to  a  more  zealous  and  strenuous 
performance  of  our  work  ;  a  work,  the  results  of 
which,  grasp  Eternity  for  their  duration.  Brethren, 
remember, — "  the  time  is  short ;"  the  time  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  mighty  work.  "  The  night 
Cometh,"  Be  admonished,  then,  by  these  fast  fleeting 
years,  "  to  work  while  it  is  called  to-day,''     0,  ho"W 


"the  memorial  stone."  257 

rapidly  the  years  go  by  !  Nine  years  ago  this  month, 
I  knelt  at  the  altar,  and  was  ordained  a  minister  of 
Jesus  ;  eleven  years  and  a  half  since,  you  were  organ- 
ized as  a  Church  of  Christ.  All  these  years  of  my 
ministry,  and  your  liistory,  gone — beyond  recall. 
Let  us  ''  redeem  the  time  ;" 

•'Do  something,  do  it  soon,  with  all  our  might; 
An  angel's  wing  would  droop  if  long  at  rest ;" 

remembering    we    are    co-workers    with    God — and 

"God  himself  inactive  were  no  longer  blest" — 

remembering  too  the  days  of  toil  are  nearly  over, 
and  days  of  remaining  rest  and  reward  nearly  ours. 
Then,  brethren,  let  us  work — work  for  our  own 
soul's  sake,  for  this  dear  Church's  sake,  for  Christ's 
sakg,  with  all  the  energy  which  the  hastening  glories 
of  our  on-coming  Eternity  can  inspire.  Very  close  to 
this  Eternity  do  we  lift  our  memorial  pillar  to-day  ; 
like  Samuel's,  even  within  sight  of  the  holy  city. 
"Why  see,  see — the  very  glory  that  i:»lays  upon  its 
summit,  is  light  flashed  from  the  pinnacles  so  near,  of 
the  heavenly  Jerusalem  !"  while  the  golden  radiance 
streaming  through  the  now  open  portal,  reveals  in 
letters  of  living  light  traced  by  the  hand  of  God, 
that  epitome  of  our  history  and  our  hope, — "  Eben- 
EZER,"  "  Ei?en-ezer."     Amen,  Amen. 

22 


CONFESSION  OF  FAITH. 


We  believe  in  one  only  living  and  true  God^  the  Fa- 
ther, the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost;  unchangeably 
perfect  in  goodness,  wisdom,  and  power  ;  the  univer- 
sal Creator,  Preserver,  Benefactor,  and  King,  who 
works  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will, 
without  impairing  the  liberty  of  the  creature. 

We  believe  that  God  has  an  infinite  right  to  the 
services  of  his  rational  creatures,  and  that  he  requires 
of  them,  under  penalty  of  his  eternal  displeasure,  to 
love  him  supremely,  and  each  other  as  themselves. 

We  believe  that  God  made  man  upright ;  that  our 
first  parents  freely  sinned  and  fell ;  that  in  conse- 
quence of  this  act,  their  descendants,  until  regene- 
rated, are  utterly  devoid  of  holiness,  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,  and  helplessly  exposed  to  the  right- 
eous wrath  of  God. 

We  believe  that  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  of  his 
own  good  pleasure  has  provided  a  glorious  salvation 
for  ruined  man, 

1 


2  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

"  We  believe  that  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  equal  with 
the  Father,  having  taken  upon  himself  our  nature, 
and  thus  becoming  man  as  well  as  God,  did,  by  his 
sufferings  and  death  in  our  stead,  make  atonement 
for  our  sins ;  that  he  rose  from  the  dead  and  ascended 
into  heaven ;  where  he  ever  liveth  to  make  interces- 
sion for  his  people. 

We  believe  that  through  him  God  offers  forgive- 
ness to  all  men  ;  and  that  every  sinner  who  turns  to 
God  by  repentance,  and  relies  upon  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  by  faith,  is  justified  by  His  righteousness. 

We  believe  that  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  very  God, 
by  special  agency  works  in  all  those  who  are  chosen 
to  salvation,  that  change  of  heart  from  sin  to  holi- 
ness, without  which  no  man  can  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God  ;  and  though  God  will  save  no  man  who 
does  not  work  out  his  own  salvation  to  the  end,  yet, 
whenever  he  commences  a  good  work,  we  believe, 
through  sovereign  grace,  the  Holy  Ghost  will  surely 
work  in  that  man  to  will  and  to  do  until  the  day  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

We  believe  that  God  has  revealed  all  things  neces- 
sary to  salvation  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament ;  which,  being  given  by  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit,  are  the  only  infallible  rule  of 
faith  and  practice. 


CONFESSION    OF    FAITH.  .3 

We  believe  that  it  is  the  Scriptural^duty  of  the 
disciples  of  Christ  to  associate  themselves  for  worship 
and  communion ;  for  mutual  watchfulness  and  im- 
provement ;  for  the  administration  of  Baj^tism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper ;  and  for  the  perpetuation  and  ex- 
tension of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom ;  and  that  every 
association  of  believers  for  these  purposes  is  a  Christ- 
ian Church. 

We  believe  that  there  will  be  a  general  resurrec- 
tion of  the  righeous  and  of  the  wicked  ;  and  a  general 
judgment,  by  the  award  of  which  the  righteous  will 
be  admitted  to  everlasting  happiness,  and  the  wicked 
sentenced  to  misery  without  end. 

Do  voii  cordiallv  assent  to  these  Articles  of  Belief? 


COVENANT. 

Through  Christ  strengthening  us,  without  whom 
we  can  do  nothing,  here  in  the  jDresence  of  God,  angels, 
and  men,  we  humbly  covenant,  from  this  time  hence- 
forth and  for  ever,  that  we  do  renounce  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil  ;  that  we  do  give  up  ourselves, 
soul  and  body,  all  that  we  have  and  are,  unto  God, 
our  Father,  to  love  and  to  serve  him,  and  to  be  his, 
and  at  his  disposal  in  all  things  ;  unto  the  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ,  our  Saviour,  Prophet,  Priest  and  King, 
for  our  salvation  and  his  glory,  to  be  taught,  strength- 
ened, governed  and  employed  in  all  the  relations  and 
circumstances  of  life  ;  and  unto  the  Holy  Ghost,  our 
Sanctifier,  to  be  influenced,  edified,  and  comforted  by 
his  gracious  power,  unto  all  Christian  perfection  and 
usefulness. 

And  we  do  further  promise,  that  we  will  walk  with 
this  Church  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances 
of  the  Lord,  and  in  love  and  charity  with  all  its  mem- 
bers ;  resolving,  for  their  encouragement  and  our  own 
spiritual  progress,  that  we  will  endeavor,  by  personal 
eff'ort  and  influence,  to  promote  its  purity,  efficiency, 
and  enlargement. 

Do  yoii  thus  solemnly  covenant  and  promise  ? 

Then  doth  this  Church  affectionately  receive  you  to  its  membership, 
and  welcome  you  to  all  the  privileges,  labors,  and  blessings  of  the 
Household  of  Faith. 

Thus  you  are  admitted  to  this  Church,  and  liave  a  right  to  all  its 
privileges.  May  you  have  grace  to  improve  them  to  the  glory  of  God 
and  your  own  edification. 


STANDING  RULES. 


1.  Officers. — The  officers  of  this  Church,  in  additiou 
to  the  Pastor  and  Deacons,  shall  consist  of  a  Clerk,  Treas- 
urer, Standing  Committee  of  three,  and  a  Cotnmittee  on  the 
State  and  Progress  of  the  Church,  who  shall  be  elected 
annually.  The  pastor  and  deacons  shall  be  ex-officio  mem- 
bers of  the  Standing  Committee. 

2,  Duties  of  the  Officers. — In  the  absence  of  the 
pastor,  the  oldest  deacon  present  shall  preside. 

The  Clerh  shall  keep  a  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Church,  a  list  of  members,  and  of  baptized  childi-en,  and 
note  the  changes  by  death,  removal,  or  marriage,  and  make 
a  report  thereof  at  the  annual  meeting.  It  shall  be  his 
duty  to  enter  the  names  in  full  of  all  persons  admitted  to 
the  Church,  or  dismissed  from  it,  not  only  in  the  alphabet- 
ical list  of  members,  but  in  the  general  record  of  proceed- 
ings. 

The  Treasurer  shall  receive  all  contributions  of  the 
Chm-ch  and  congregation,  and  disburse  them  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Standing  Committee,  and  make  a  specific  an- 
nual report. 

The  Standing  Committee  shall  receive  all  applications 
for  admission  to  the  Church,  and  after  satisfactory  examin- 
ation, recommend  them  for  acceptance ;  examine,  and  re- 
port on  all  cases  of  discipline ;  direct  for  what  objects^  and 
at  what  dates,  benevolent  contributions  shall  be  taken  up  ; 
appoint  collectors ;  ascertain  the  wants  of  poor  members, 


6  STANDING  RULES. 

and  make  appropriations,  when  necessary,  for  their  relief; 
and  attend  to  such  other  matters  as  may  he  referred  to 
them  by  the  Church. 

The  Committee  on  the  State  and  Progress  of  the  Church 
shall  take  note  of  interesting  facts  and  occurrences,  and 
embody  them,  with  suitable  suggestions,  in  an  annual  re- 
port. 

3.  Membership. — Persons  desirous  of  professing  their 
faith  in  Christ,  in  connection  with  this  Church,  who  shall 
have  been  recommended  by  the  Standing  Committee,  shall 
be  publicly  propounded  at  least  two  Sabbaths  before  Com- 
munion. If  no  objections  are  oflFered  within  this  period, 
to  theu-  reception,  they  shall  be  admitted  by  the  Pastor  in 
the  usual  manner. 

Persons  recommended  for  admission,  by  certificate  from 
other  churches,  shall  be  received,  by  vote  of  the  Church,  at 
a  regular  meeting. 

4.  Dismission  of  Members. — It  is  expected  that  mem- 
bers, on  removing,  will  ask  for  letters  of  dismission  and  re- 
commendation. Requests  for  such  letters  may  be  announ- 
ced at  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  or  lecture,  and  if,  at  the 
end  of  one  week,  no  objection  has  been  made,  IJie  Pastor 
or  Clerk  shall  issue  the  customary  certificate. 

5.  DisciPLiM'\ — The  directions  given.  Matt,  xviii.  15- 
17,  shall  be  observed  in  regard  to  private  offenses.  Public 
offenses  shall  be  referred  to  the  Standing  Committee,  who 
shall  investigate  and  report  on  the  same  to  the  Church. 
Censure,  of  every  degree,  shall  be  passed  only  by  vote  of 
the  Church. 

Members  who  statedly  absent  themselves  from  the  ap- 
pointed services  of  tbis  Church,  without  presenting  satis- 
factory reasons  therefor,  shall  be  amenable  to  discipline. 


STANDING  RULES,  7 

6.  Committee  on  the  Sabbath  School. — There  shall 
be  a  Committee  of  three  persons,  appointed  quarterly,  by 
the  Church,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  visit  the  families  con- 
nected with  this  Church  and  Congregation,  and  endeavor 
to  awaken  an  interest  in  the  Sabbath  School,  on  the  part 
of  parents ;  to  secure  the  regular  attendance  of  their  chil- 
dren ;  to  visit  the  Sabbath  School,  and  in  cooperation  with 
the  Superintendent,  to  use  every  means  in  their  power  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  School,  and  they  shall  make  a 
report  of  their  proceedings  at  the  quarterly  meeting  ending 
their  term  of  service. 

There  shall  be  a  quarterly  meeting  held  in  the  months 
of  January,  April,  July,  and  October,  of  which  public  no- 
tice shall  be  given,  when  the  Sabbath  School  interest  shall 
be  specially  considered,  and  reports  received  from  the  afore- 
said Committee  and  from  one  of  the  officers  of  the  School. 

7.  Communion  Services  shall  be  held  on  the  first  Sab- 
bath of  each  alternate  mouth,  beginning  with  January 
next. 

8.  There  shall  be  an  Annual  Meeting  in  the  month  of 
November,  for  the  choice  of  officers,  the  presentation  of  an- 
nual reports,  and  the  transaction  of  other  business. 

9.  No  additions  or  alterations  shall  be  made  to  these 
Rules,  except  at  an  annual  meeting,  or  a  meeting  called 
specifically  for  the  purpose,  and  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of 
the  members  present. 

Nev^t  Haven,  Nov.  22,  1864. 


SOUTH  CHURCH  PULPIT. 


INCUMBENTS. 

Rev.  JOSEPH  C.  STILES,  D.D., 
Stated  Supply,  from  1852  to  Nov.  15,  1857. 

Rev.  GURDON  W.  NOYES, 
Associate  Supply,  from  June  25,  1854  to  Dec.  1,  185t. 
Then  Stated  Supply,  till  May  24,  1858. 
Then  installed  Tastor  till  June  3,  1861. 


Rev.  JOSEPH  HALSTED  CARROLL, 
Stated  Supply,  from  June  1,  1862. 

Rev.  MYRON  BARRETT, 
Associate  do.  from  Feb.  18,  1863  till  May  1,  1864. 


DEACONS. 

BENEDICT   BURWELL,   from  Nov.  19,  1852,  till  his   death,  April 

14,  1863. 
EASTMAN  S.  MINOR,  from  Nov.  19,  1852  till  July  31,  1863. 
THOMAS  HORSFALL,  from  June  3,  1852. 
CHARLES  H.  WARNER,  from  Nov.  1,  1863. 
NICHOLAS  COUNTRYMAN,  from  Nov.  1,  1863. 


OFFICERS  ELECTED  FOR  ONE  YEAR   AT  THE  ANNUAL 
MEETING  OF  THE  CHURCH,  NOVEMBER  22,  1864. 

STANDING  COMMITTEE. 
Ret.  J.  HALSTED  CARROLL,"]   ^CH^VRLES  F.  HOTCHKISS, 
THOMAS  HORSFALL,  I   ^  JOHN  H.  LEEDS, 

CHARLES  H.  WARNER,  ( '^SAMUEL  BRACE. 

NICHOLAS  COUNTRYMAN,    J   ?" 


10  OFFICERS. 

CLERK.  TREASURER. 

GERARD  HALLOCK.  THOMAS  HORSFALL. 


COMMITTEE  ON  THE  STATE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

JOHN  H.  LEEDS,  EDWIN  W.  TREAT, 

JOHN  D.  TYLER. 


OFTIOEES  OF  THE  EOOLESIASTIOAL  SOOIETT  CONNECTED 
WITH  THE  SOUTH  CHURCH. 

Elected  Nov.  22,  1864, /or  07ie  year. 

society's  committee. 

THOMAS  HORSFALL,  GERARD  HALLOCK, 

THOMAS  H.  FULTON,  CHARLES  F.  HOTCHKISS, 

NICHOLAS  COUNTRYMAN. 


CLERK.  treasurer  AND  COLLECTOR. 

CHARLES  II.  WARNER.  THOMAS  HORSFALL. 


MUSIC  committee. 

THOMAS  HORSFALL,  GERARD  HALLOCK, 

CHARLES  H.  WARNER. 


USHERS. 

CHARLES  F.  HOTCHKISS,  EDWIN  W.  TREAT. 


COLLECTORS  IN  CHURCH. 

PASCAL  WITIIEY,  CHARLES  F.  HOTCHKISS, 

EDWIN  W.  TREAT. 


ORGANIST.  SLIP  AGENT. 

FRANK  L.  MARTYN.  CHARLES  F.  HOTCHKISS. 


SEXTON. 

HENRY  W.  BLAKESLEE. 


GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS, 

Comprising  all  ivho  are  or  have  been  Members,  at  any  period 
from  the  organization  of  the  Church,  to  Jan.  1,  1865. 


Explanation.— The  letter  c  prefixed  to  a  name,  denotes  that  the  person  was  re- 
ceived by  certificate,  from  some  other  church.  All  others  were  admitted  on  profes- 
eion  of  their  faith. 

The  letter  [r]  at  the  end  of  a  name,  signifies  that  the  person  had  before  been  a 
member  of  this  Church,  but  having  asked  and  received  a  certificate  of  dismisBion, 
now  returned  it,  or  brought  a  new  one,  and  was  re-admitted. 

The  letter  [w]  inserted  in  the  name  of  a  female,  signifies  widow. 

In  the  names  of  married  women,  who  were  so  at  the  time  of  admission,  the  name 
of  the  husband  is  inserted  in  a  parenthesis. 

To  ascertain  wliether  any  person  is  still  a  member  or  not,  and  if  not,  when  and 
howhe  was  dismissed,  and  wliither  he  has  removed,  see  the  two  Alphabetical  Lists, 
which  follow  this.  In  those  Lists  the  names  of  women  who  have  been  married  since 
their  admission,  as  well  as  those  who  had  been  married  before,  take  the  names  of 
their  husbands. 


1852. 

The  South  Church  was  constituted  November  8th,  1852,  consisting 
of  twenty-nine  members,  who  presented  letters  from  other  churches, 
as  follows : 

C  Benedict  Burwell,  Third  Congregational  Church,  New  Haven. 
c  Polly  (Benedict)  Burwell,  Third  Congregational  Church,  New  Haven. 
c  Charles  B.  Burwell,  "  ''  "  " 

c  Harriet  A.  (Chas.  B )  Burwell,  "        "  " 

c  "William  S.  Porter,  Fourth  Church,  Hartford. 
c  Jane  B.  (William  S.)  Porter,  Fourth  Church,  Hartford. 
c  Caroline  W.  Burwell,  Third  Congregational  Church,  New  Haven, 
c  Jane  S.  Burwell,  (afterwards  Mrs.  Thos.  E.  Barrett,)  Third  Congre- 
gational Church,  New  Haven, 
c  Thomas  Horsfall,  Chapel  Street  Church,  New  Haven. 
c  Sarah  G.  (Thomas)  Horsfall.  Chapel  Street  Church,  New  Haveu. 


12  GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 

c  Nancy  L.  [w]  Barrett,  Union  Church,  Worcester. 

a  Thomas  E.  Barrett,     ♦     "  "  " 

c  Amos  Smith,  Chapel  Street  Church,  New  Haven. 

c  Maria  (Amos)  Smith,  Chapel  Street  Church,  New  Haven. 

c  Eliza  (Gerard)  Hallock,  College  Street  Church,  New  Haven. 

C  Lucy  Coffin,  " 

C  Catharine   McCann,   (now   the   widow   of   Robert  Steele,)   College 

Street  Church,  New  Haven. 
C  E.  Porter  Belden,  Presbyterian  Church,  Sing  Sing,  N.  Y. 
c  Eliza  (E.  Porter)  Belden,  "  "  "  " 

C  WilUam  M.  Hubbard,  United  Society,  (North  Church,)  New  Haven, 
c  Harriet  Jane  (Wm.  M.)  Hubbard,  " 

c  Sarah  M.  Hubbard,  (now  Mrs.  Wm.  A.  Wright,)  North  Ch., 
c  Martha  Jane  Hubbard, 
C  Eastman  S.  Minor, 

C  Judith  M.  (Eastman  S.)  Minor,  " 

c  Ann  M.  (Stephen,  Jr.)  Hotchkiss,  Trinity  Church, 
c  Augusta  W.  [w]  Currier,  College  Street  Church, 
c  Grace  G.  [v>-]  (Andrew  L.)  Mason,  Howe  Street  Church, 
C  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Merrow,  East  Granby  Church,  Mass. 

At  the  first  Communion,  first  Sabbath  in  December,  1852,  the  fol- 
lowing persons  were  received  as  members : 

Dec.     c  Mary  (Stephen,  Sen.)  Hotchkiss. 
c  Lucy  Hotchkiss. 
c  Harriet  Hotchkiss. 

James  V.  R.  Chapman. 

Frank  Edwin  Hotclikiss. 

George  S.  Minor. 

Alfred  Mmor. 

Mary  (John)  Ward. 

1853. 

Feb.     c  James  L.  Burnett. 

c  Juliet  (James  L.)  Burnett. 

c  Tliomas  Owen. 

c  Josephine  (Thomas)  Owen. 

Caroline  E.  Alley,  (now  Mrs.  George  S.  Foots.) 


GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS.  13 

George  Bradley. 
Lovisa  (George)  Bradley. 
Margaret  Collinson. 
Amelia  Hotchkiss. 
Charles  F.  Hotchkiss. 
Olivia  E.  (Charles  F.)  Hotchkiss. 
Porter  G.  Hull. 
Abby  (Johu)  White. 
April,  c  Henry  Judson. 

•    c  George  "W.  Nettleton. 

c  Charlotte  (George  W.)  Nettleton. 
c  Evan  Thomas. 
c  Jane  (Evan)  Thomas. 
Emily  Bliss  Augur. 

Charlotte  A.  Cadwdl,  (now  Mrs.  Henry  Loomis.) 
Lydia  G.  Chidsey. 
Clarissa  Chapman  Porter. 
Laura  Eliza  Russell,  (now  Mrs.  L.  P.  Deming.) 
June.       Mary  E.  (Robert)  Blair. 
C  Nicholas  Countryman. 

Henry  L.  Stewart. 
c  Sarah  E.  (Henry  L.)  Stewart. 
c  Harriet  S.  [w]  Thompson. 
Josephine  Benedict  Clark. 
Martha  C.  (Caleb  S.)  Duell. 
Jane  S.  Price,  (now  Mrs.  Terrill.) 
Mary  [w]  Severance. 
Aug.    c  George  R.  Bill. 
Caleb  S.  Duell. 
John  C.  Nelson. 
Elizabeth  "W.  (John  C.)  Nelson. 
Henry  Martyn  Barrett. 
David  H.  Hine. 
John  Thomas  Mix. 
Oct.      c  Christiana  Young,  (now  Mrs.  Theophilus  H.  Benham.) 
c  Isaac  Martin. 
c  Eliza  Jane  (Isaac)  Martin 
r.  Chester  K.  Pond. 

2 


14  GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS, 

c  Nancy  M.  (Erastus  R.)  Pholpf?. 
c  Polly  [w]  Armstrong. 

c  Susan  Carrington,  (now  Mvs.  David  H.  Hine.) 
Dec.     r  James  H.  Beers. 

1854. 

Feb.     c  Deborah  (John  L.)  Cadwell. 

c  Elizabeth  (Charles  B.)  Pomeroy. 
Lewis  Chapman. 
David  Douglass. 

Mary  Elizabeth  [w]  (Wm.  G.)  Hunter. 
Mary  A.  Smith. 

Mary  Scott,  (now  Mrs.  Chester  E.  Pond.) 
April.      L.  Amelia  (Geo.  E.)  Bill. 

Celia  Hall,  (afterwards  Mrs.  James  H.  Beers.) 
Julia  Virginia  Phelps,  (now  Mrs.  James  "W.  Wilson.) 
C  Mary  M.  (Charles)  Ward. 
August.  Origen  A.  Barrett. 

Lindsley  Monroe  Burnett. 
Margaret  (John)  Crosby.    . 
Charles  Edwin  Daily. 
Gerard  Hallock. 
Charles  Augustus  Hotchkiss. 
c  Agnes  (Gurdon  W.)  Noyes. 
c  Charles  Phillips. 
c  Patty  (Charles)  Phillips. 
Sarah  Maria  (Ransom  H.)  Thomas. 
John  Wilkinson. 
c  Elizabeth  (John)  Wilkinson. 
Oct.      c  Jane  (Adam)  Baird. 

c  Marilla  [w]  Hall.  ' 

c  Louisa  Hall. 
c  Marietta  Hall, 
c  Elizabeth  [w]  Knox. 
Dec.         John  Crosby. 

c  Lewis  M.  Mills. 

u  Charlotte  L  (Lewis  M.)  Mill*. 

(J  Lucv  B.  Minor. 


GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS.  15 

1855. 

Feb.         Augusta  Ailing. 

James  Buchanan. 

Ann  (James)  Buchanan. 

Susan  B.  (Thomas  C.)  HoJlis. 

William  C.  Scobie. 
c  Amelia  (Wm.  C.)  Scobie. 
c  Jane  L.  [wj  Scobie. 
c  Pascal  Withey. 
c  Lucy  "Wells  (Pascal)  Withey. 
April.       Horace  A.  Augur. 

c  Fannie  E.  (Horace  A.)  Augur. 

Thomas  Bence. 

Sarah  (Thomas)  Bence. 

Charlotte  A.  Churchill,  (now  Mrs.  Minot  \.  Butricks.) 

Henry  Clarence  Daily. 

Ann  (Wm.)  Edwards. 
C  Juha  [w]  Fowler. 

Sarah  Fowler. 
c  Mary  Hill. 

Harriet  Frances  [w]  (Wm.)  Hull. 
C  Willian\  Merwin. 
C  Lucy  (Wra.)  Merwiu. 
c  EmUy  0.  Jlerwin. 
c  Mary  E.  Merwin. 
c  Rufus  S.  Pickett. 
c  Catharine  (Rufus  S.)  Pickett. 

Cornelia  Eliza  Taylor,  (now  Mrs.  T.  Hanson.) 

Charles  Henry  Warner. 

Sarah  M.  (Charles  H.)  Warner. 
June.       Lucie  Jane  Benedict. 
C  John  Evans. 

Eliza  (John)  Evaus. 

Mary  Emeline  Hurd,  (now  Mrs.  Frank  Hayes.) 

Maria  Louisa  Mills. 
August.  Cornelia  Bevins. 

Maria  Helen  BeVins. 

Robert  Dyas. 


16  GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 

Ellen  Jeffreys. 

John  H.  Leeds. 

Sarah  Jane  Magie,  (now  Mrs.  Orville  F.  Parsons.) 

Harvey  Merchant. 

Catharine  Cornelia  (Harvey)  Merchant. 

George  Yonngerman. 

Emma  B.  (George)  Youngerraan. 
October.  Minot  Augustus  Butricks. 

Charles  Burwell  Foote. 
c  Mrs.  Ann  Fenn. 
Dec.         Alexander  Adams. 

Hester  Bishop, 
c  Eliza  H.  BristoU. 
C  William  A.  HaUock. 

Frances  Amelia  Hine,  (now  Mrs.  John  H.  Leeds.) 
c  Mrs.  Mary  Stuart. 
c  Lucina  S.  [w]  Tisdale. 

1856. 

Feb.         Susan  Jane  Street,  (now  Mrs.  John  Butler.) 

James  Steele. 
c  Jessie  (James)  Steele. 

Arabella  [w]  Tyrrell. 
April,  c  Mary  (Ira)  Bryan. 

Sarah  (Tennis)  Bowns. 

Charlotte  E.  (Thomas  H.)  FuIIod. 

John  W.  Scofield. 

Lavinia  C.  (Edgar)  Scofield. 
June,   c  Andrew  Baird. 

C  Jane  A.  (Andrew)  Baird. 

Margaret  Baird,  (wife  of  David.) 

Jennette  Baird,  (wife  of  Hugh.) 
August.  Frederick  Grant. 

Elizabeth  W.  McArthur. 
October.  James  Coggeshall. 

c  Betsey  A.  Mansfield. 

Edgar  Scofield. 
Dec.     c  Jane  (Wm.  B.)  Catlin. 


GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS.  17 

c  John  Nicoll. 

c  Cornelia  C.  (John)  Nicoll. 

c  John  Stetson. 

c  Harriet  (John)  Stetson. 

1857. 

Feb.         Reugeue  L.  Young. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Wright. 
June,   c  Maria  K.  Munson. 

c  Wil'iam  E.  Scranton. 
c  Sarah  E.  ("Wm.  E.)  Scrauton. 
August.  Lucy  J.  Bryan. 
Mary  A.  Bryan. 

Paulina  L.  Thompson,  (now  Mrs.  0.  B.  Foote.) 
Frances  M.  Clark. 
Sarah  D.  Gaskill. 
October.  Laura  E.  Gaskill. 

C  Charles  M.  Shumway. 
C  Mary  (Charles  M.)  Shumway. 
Dec.     c  Maria  (Henry  S.)  Cathn. 
c  Lydia  M.  Lord. 
c  A.  L.  Frisbie. 

1858. 

Feb.         Jane  McPhee. 

June.       JuUctta  Currier,  (uow  Mrs.  G.  W.  Hazel.) 

Isabella  Baird. 

Sarah  Baird. 

Jessie  Ann  Torbett,  (now  Mrs.  Alaric  McNeill.) 

Eliza  Hare,  (now  Mrs.  Henry  Corbett.) 

Sarah  L.  Horsfall. 

Laura  Burnett. 

James  H,  Burnett. 

Preston  B.  Burnett. 

Fideha  Taylor,  (now  Mrs.  Theo.  Morris.) 

Elizabeth  S.  Duell,  (now  Mrs.  Ed.  A.  Hart.) 

Charlotte  Macomber. 

Mary  E.  Bunnell. 

Jennette  Eddy. 

2* 


18  GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 

George  H.  Butrickp. 

Sophia  (George  II.)  Butriuks. 

Edward  Gillette. 

Anna  (Edward)  Gillette. 

WOliam  H.  Hazel. 

George  W.  Hazel. 

Waldemir  B.  Ailing. 

Seth  Gillette. 

Catharine  (Seth)  Gillette. 

Susan  Martin. 

Louisa  B.  Tuttle,  (now  Mrs.  D.  Umberfield.) 

Phebe  M.  Dean, 
c  Ezra  Staples. 
c  Vesta  (Ezra)  Staples, 
c  Elias  Gaylord. 
c  Mary  A.  (Elias)  Gaylord. 
c  Martha  Coggeshall. 
c  James  Torbett. 
C  Ann  (James)  Torbett. 
C  Lucy  P.  [w]  Young. 
August.  James  A.  Bryan. 

C  Catharine  C.  Jones. 
C  Catharine  Moffat. 
Oct.      c  Marj-  M.  Abbott. 
c  Polly  Woodruff, 
c  Martha  Woodruff. 
C  Mary  S.  Woodruff. 
c  Martha  Stewart. 

1859. 

Feb.         Lydia  L.  (John)  Pier  son. 

Ellen  F.  Corey,  (now  Mrs.  James  11.  Burnett.) 

C  Amos  Smith,  [r.]     See  Note  1. 
June.       Agnes  [w]  Baird. 

C  Ira  Ailing. 


1.  Admitted  by  letter,  November  8,  1852.  Dismissed  in  18M,  to  Congregational 
Church  in  Orange.  August,  1859,  returned  certific:ite,  and  was  re-admittcd.  Left 
(i«aln  in  1804,  without  a  certidcate  from  Snvith  Church,  and  Joined  College  Street 
Church. 


GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS,  19 

C  Hannah  Ailing. 
August.   Martha  0.  Francis. 

c  Robert  Latta. 

c  Elizabeth  (Robert)  Latta. 

C  Arabella  [\v]  Tyrrell,  [r.]     See  Note  2. 
[At  this  point  of  time  the  date  of  the  Communion  was  changed. 
The  next  Communion  after  December,  was  held  in  March,  and  has  been 
continued  on  each  alternate  month  ever  since.] 

I860. 

March.G  John  H.  Leeds,  [r.]  ^ 

c  Frances  (John  H.)  Leeds,  [r.]  f  ^^^  ^^°^  ^ 

C  Thomas  E.  Barrett,  [r.]  \ 

C  Jane  S.  (Thomas  E.)  Barrett,  [r.]  \  ^^^  ^'"^  *■ 

c  PoUy  W.  WilUams. 

c  Abbie  S.  Williams. 
John  "Wallace. 
July,    c  Henrietta  E.  Walker. 

C  John  R.  Garlock. 

c  Catharine  (John  R.)  Garlock. 

c  Albert  R.  Harrison. 

c  Eli  H.  Scofield. 

C  Jane  (E.  H.)  Scofield. 
Nov.     c  C.  F.  Hotchkiss,  [r.]  | 

c  Olivia  E.(C.F.)  Hotchkiss,  [r.]  J  ^^^  ^°^  ^^ 

c  Marion  0.  Hotchkiss,  (now  Mrs.  A.  J.  Nichols.) 

c  Margaret  Moffat. 

c  Nancy  Crone. 

Hannah  (Joseph  H.)  Smith. 

2.  Admitted  by  professiou,  in  1856.  Dismissed,  September,  1858.  Returned  the  let- 
ter in  August,  1859,  and  was  re-admitted  to  South  Church.  Dismissed  again  in  1864, 
to  a  Church  in  Canada. 

3.  Admitted  by  profession,  in  1855.  Dismissed  in  1359,  to  a  Church  in  Northampton. 
Returned  certificates  in  March,  1860,  and  were  re-admitted  to  South  Church. 

4.  Admitted  by  letter,  November  8,  1852.  Dismissed,  August  3,  1853,  to  a  Church  in 
New  Britain.  Re-admitted  to  South  Church,  March,  1860.  Mr.  Barrett  was  killed  in 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  December  13,  1862.  Mrs.  B.  was  dismissed  again,  April 
19, 1864,  and  joined  College  Street  Church. 

5.  Admitted  by  profession,  February,  1853.  Dismissed  to  Congregational  Church  in 
Waubonsee,  Kansas,  in  May,  1859.    Re-admitted  to  South  Church,  November.  1860. 


20  GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 

Mary  M.  Stowe. 

Aun  (Capt.  Wm.)  Bates. 

1861. 

Sept.        Thomas  T.  Minor. 

Nov.     c  George  W.  Hazel,  [r.]  ) 

c  Julietta  (George  W.)  Hazel,  [r.]  \  ^'^  ^"^^  ^■ 

1862. 

Jan.      c  Lucy  A.  Swectland,  (now  Mrs.  Ed.  Gillette.) 
c  Henry  Up.son. 

Edna  M.  "Walker,  (now  Mrs.  Dibble.) 
March.     Agues  McDonald. 
July.        Mary  E.  (Capt.  Frederick  S.)  Ward, 
c  Edward  Cos. 
c  Louisa  A.  (Edward)  Coe. 
Julia  A.  (Edwin  W.)  Treat. 
Sept.        Mary  Cordelia  (M.  Dorter)  Snell. 

Edna  S.  (Joseph)  Gray. 
Nov.         Ann  E.  (George)  Deming. 

1863. 

January.  Sarah  Moffat. 

Elizabeth  M.  Bishop. 

Ella  M.  Hotchkiss. 

Anna  D.  Hotchkiss. 

Bettie  Lee. 

Agnes  Baird. 

Emma  Jane  Minor. 

Jennie  E.  Minor. 

Theresa  E.  Burnett. 

Mary  J.  Blair. 

Martha  Duel!.  .  ^ 

Mary  C.  Deming. 

Carrie  E.  BurwoU. 

6.  Admitted  by  profiHsion,  June  6,  1858.  Dismissed  to  Howe  Street  Churcli,  June 
11,1861.  Re-admitted  to  South  Church,  in  November,  same  year.  Dismissed  again, 
by  general  letter,  July  1, 1863. 


GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS.  21 


C  Wilbur  Johnson. 
C  Leicester  A.  Carrington. 
c  Laura  A.  (Leicester  A.)  Carriugton. 
March.c  Juliette  Bonney. 

Edwin  W.  Treat. 

Mary  L.  Lockwood. 

Joseph  H.  Smith. 

George  Petrie. 

Louisa  E.  Bryan, 
c  Lafayette  S.  Comstock. 
c  Hannah  M.  (Lafayette  S.)  Comstock. 

Josephine  Hollister. 
May.        Ellen  M.  Minor. 
C  Huldah  Jennings. 

William  H.  Deming. 

Pulaski  Leeds. 
c  Andrew  Moffat. 
C  Mary  Mofiat. 
0  Huldah  Scott,  (now  Mrs.  Benjamin.) 

Gilbert  Moore. 
July,    c  Juha  (Elias)  Hotchkiss. 
c  Joseph  G.  Ishani. 
C  Christina  (Joseph  G.)  Isham. 

John  B.  Isham. 
Sept.    c  Josephine  B.  Clark,  [r.]     See  Note  7. 

1864. 

January.  Louisa  (Nicholas)  Countryman. 
Franklin  Countrj-man. 
Sarah  (Frederick)  Grant. 
March.     Samuel  Brace. 

c  Sarah  R.  (Samuel)  Brace. 
C  M.  Porter  Suell. 

Martha  C.  (Ralph  V.)  Kent. 

Sarah  A.  Webster,  (now  Mrs.  Geo.  Petrie.) 


7.  Admitted  by  profession,  June  5, 1853.    Dismissed  to  a  Church  in  Scotland,  Dec. 
3,  1860.    Re-admitted  to  South  Church,  in  September,  1863. 


22  GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 

Jane  (John)  Magie. 

Josepli  Gray. 

Thomas  Horsfall,  Jr. 
May.        Samuel  L.  Hawkins. 

Laura  (Samuel  L.)  Hawkins. 

Caroline  S.  (Alvin  L.)  Willougliby. 
July.        R.  "W.  Wright. 

Sarah  Louisa  (R.  W.)  Wright. 

Marie  Antoinette  Kingsbury. 

Adelaide  [w]  Louisa  Lyon. 
Sept.       Margaret  (Frederick)  Veitch. 
Nov.        John  D.  Tyler. 

Mrs.  Arm  E.  Mersham. 

Sarah  I.  (H.  D.)  Smith. 

Eleanor  [widow  of  Bennett]  Caldwell. 

Jane  A.  Supple. 
C  Martha  Jane  Hubbard,  [r.]     See  Note  8. 


8.  Admitted  by  certificate,  November  8,  1852.  August  3,  1864,  took  a  letter  to  tho 
Second  Congregational  Church  in  Fair  Haven.  Returned  it  in  November,  same  year, 
and  was  re-admitted  to  South  Church. 


GENERAL  LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 


23 


RECAriTULATION  BY  FIGURES. 


Yea7:  Profession. 

1852 .5 

1853, 26 

1854, 17 

1855, 35 

1856, 13 

1857, , 8 

1858, 28 

1859, 4 

1860, 4 

1861, 1 

1862, 7 

1863, 24 

1864, 22 


194 
Deduct  for  re-admissions, 12 

Certificate, 154 

Profession, 194 


Certificate. 

Total. 

32 

37 

21 

47 

15 

32 

19 

54 

10 

23 

8 

16 

15 

43 

6 

10 

17 

21 

2 

3 

4 

11 

14 

38 

3 

25 

166 

360 

...  12 

12 

348 


Total,  343 


It  is  proper  to  remarlc,  that  quite  a  number  of  persons,  especially 
since  the  action  of  the  late  ex-parte  Council,  have  been  admitted  by 
profession,  who  had  before  been  members  of  other  churches. 

Of  the  twelve  re-admissions,  two  occurred  in  1859,  six  in  1860.  two 
in  1861,  one  in  1863,  and  one  in  1864. 


PRESENT  MEMBERS. 


ALPHABETICAL  LLST  OF  MEMBEES,   JANUARY  1,  1865. 


Note. — The  fisures  Ijefote  the  name,  denote  the  year  when  the  ppr-^on  wtus  admit- 
ted to  this  Church. 


A. 

1859.— Abbott,  Mary  M. 

B. 

1854. — Baird,  Jane,  wife  of  Adam. 
1856. — Baird,  Margaret,  wife  of  David. 
1856. — Baird,  Jennette,  wife  of  Hugh. 
1856. — Baird,  Andrew. 
1856. —  Jane  A.,  wife  of  Andi'ew. 

1858. — Baird,  Sarah,  wife  of  James. 
1858.— Baird,  Isabella. 
1859. — Baird,  Agues,  widow  of  Archibald. 
1863.— Baird,  Agnes. 
1860. — Bates,  Ann,  wife  of  William. 
18G3. — Benjamin,  Huldah  Scott. 
]  855. — Bevins,  Cornelia. 
1855. — Bevins,  Mary  Helen, 
1855.— Bishop,  Hester. 
1863.— Bishop,  Elizabeth  M. 
1863. — Blair,  Mary  Jane. 
1856.— Bowns,  Sarah  T. 
3 


26  ALP^ABRTTfAI,   LIST. 

.1 863. — Bonney,  Juliette. 

1864. — Brace,  Samuel. 

1864. —  Sarah  R.,  wife  of  Samuel. 

1856. — Bryan,  Mary,  wife  of  Ira. 

1857.— Bryan,  Mary  A. 

1857. — Bryan,  Lucy  Jane. 

1858. — Bryan,  James  A. 

1863. — Bryan,  Lousa  E. 

1855. — Buchanan,  James. 

1855. —  Ann,  wife  of  James. 

1854. — Burnett,  Lindley  Monroe. 

1852. — Burwell,  Dolly,  widow  of  Deacon  Benedict. 

C. 

1864. — Caldwell,  Eleanor,  widow  of  Bennett. 

1856. — Catlin,  Jane,  wife  of  William  B. 

1857. — Catlin,  Maria,  wife  of  Henry  S. 

1857.— Clark,  Frances  M. 

1853. — Clark,  Josephine  B. 

1852.— Coffin,  Lucy. 

1858. — Corbett,  Eliza  Hare,  wife  of  Robert. 

1853. — Countryman,  Nicholas. 

1863. —  Louisa,  wife  of  Nicholas. 

1863. — Countryman,  Franklin. 

1858. — Coggeshall,  Martha. 

1860. — Crone,  Nancy. 

1854. — Crosby,  Margaret,  widow  of  John. 

1858.— Dean,  Phebe  M. 

1858. — Deming,  Ann  E.,  wife  of  George. 

1863. — Deming,  Mary  C. 

1863. — Deming,  William  H. 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST.  27 

1853.— Duell,  Caleb  S. 

1853.—  Martha  C,  wife  of  Caleb  S. 

1863.— Duell,  Martlia. 

E, 

1855. — Evans,  John. 

1855. —  Eliza,  wife  of  John. 

F. 
1855. — Fenn,  Ann. 
1855. — Foote,  Charles  B. 

1857. —  Paulina  L.  Thof/ipsofi,  wife  of  Charles  B. 

1853. — Foote,  Caroline  E.  Allei/,  wife  of  George  S. 
1859. — Francis,  Martha  O. 
1856. — Fulton,  Charlotte  E.,  wife  of  Thomas  H. 

G. 

1856. — Grant,  Frederick. 

1864. —  Sarah,  wife  of  Frederick. 

1858. — Goodrich,  Martha  Stewart,  wife  of  John. 

1864. — Gray,  Joseph. 

1862. —  Edna  S.,  wife  of  Jose^Ji. 

H. 
1854. — Hallock,  Gerard. 
1852.—  Eliza,  wife  of  Gerard. 

1855.— Hallock,  Rev.  William  A. 
1855.— Hanson,  Cornelia  E.  Taylor,  wife  of  Thomas. 
1858.— Hart,  Elizabeth  S.  Biidl. 
1864. — Hawkins,  Samuel  L. 
1864. —  Laura  L.,  wife  of  Samuel  L. 

1855. — Hayes,  Mary  E.  Hard,  wife  of  Frank. 
1855.— Hill,  Mary. 
1863. — Hollister,  Josephine. 


28  ALPHABETICAL  LIST. 

1855.— Hollis,  Susan  B.,  wife  of  Thomas  C. 

1852.— Horsfall,  Thomas. 

1852. —  Sarah  G.,  wife  of  Thomas. 

1858.— Horsfall,  Sarah  L. 

1864.— Horsfall,  Thomas,  Jr. 

1852. — Hotchkiss,  Ami  M.,  wife  of  Stephen,  Jr. 

1852. — Hotchkiss,  Lucy. 

1852. — Hotchkiss,  Harriet. 

1853.— Hotchkiss,  Charles  F. 

1853. —  Olivia  E.,  wife  of  Charles  F. 

1863. — Hotchkiss,  Julia,  wife  of  Elias. 

1863.— Hotchkiss,  Ella  M. 

1863. — Hotchkiss,  Annie  D.,  wife  of  Frederick  T. 

1852.— Hubbard,  William  M. 

1852. — Hubbard,  Martha  Jane. 

1853.— Hull,  Porter  G. 

1854. — Hunter,  Mary  E.,  widow  of  William  G. 

1855.— Hull,  Harriet  F.,  wife  of  William. 

I. 

1863. — Isham,  Joseph  G. 

1863. —  Christina  B.,  wife  of  Joseph  G. 

1863. — Isham,  .7ohn  B. 

J. 

1863. — Jennings,  Huldah. 

K. 

1863. — Keeler,  Carrie  E.  Burwcll,  wife  of  Morris. 
1864.— Kent,  Martha  C,  wife  of  Kalph  V. 
1864. — Kingsbury,  Marie  Antoinette. 

L. 

1859.— Latta,  Robert. 

1859. —  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Robert. 


ALPHABETICAL   LIST.  29 

1863.— Lee,  Bettie. 

1855. — Leeds,  John  H. 

1855.—  Frances  A.  Hluc,  wife  of  John  H. 

1863.— Leeds,  Pulaski. 

1863. — Lockwood,  Mary  L.,  wife  of  Edgar. 

1864. — Lyon,  [w]  Adelaide  Louisa. 

M. 

1862.— McDonald,  Agnes,  (under  discipline.) 

1864. — Magie,  Jane,  wife  of  John  D. 

1858. — McNeill,  Jessie  Ann  Torbetf,  wife  of  Alario. 

1858.— McPhee,  Jane. 

1853. — Martin,  Eliza  J.,  widow  of  Isaac. 

1858— Martin,  Susan. 

1856.— ^lansfield,  Mrs.  Betsey  A. 

1852.— ilinor,  Alfred. 

]  863.— Minor,  Ellen  M. 

1853.— MLx,  John  T. 

1864. — Mershani,  Mrs.  Ann  E. 

N. 
1853. — Xelsun,  John  C. 
1853.—  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Joliu  ('. 

I860.— Nichols,  Marion  O.  HotcUls.^,  wile  of  A.  J. 

O. 
1853.— Owen,  Tliomas. 
1853. —  Josephine,  wife  of  Tiiomas. 

P. 
1855.— Parsons,  Sarah  Jane  Magle,  wife  of  0.  F 
1863. — Petrie,  George. 

1864—  Sarah  A.  WchsUr,  wife  of  George. 

18.').3._Phelps,  Nancy  M..  wife  of  Erastus. 
3* 


30  ALPHABETICAL  LIST. 

R. 

1854. — Ruwliiig,  Mary  A.  Smith,  wife  of  Benjamin. 

S. 

1856. — Scofield,  Edgar. 

1856. —  Lavinia  A.,  wife  of  Edgar. 

1864. — Smith,  Sarali  Jaue,  wife  of  Horatio  D. 

1864.— Snell,  M.  Porter. 

1862.—  Mary  Cordelia,  wife  of  M.  Porter. 

1852. — Steele,  Catharine  McCaim,  [w]  of  Robert. 

1864. — Supple,  Jane  A. 

T. 
1855. — Tisdale,  Lucina  S.,  [w.] 
1858. — Torbett,  James. 
1858. —  Ann,  wife  of  James. 

1863.— Treat,  Edwin  W. 
1862. —  Julia  A.,  wife  of  Edwin. 

1864.— Tyler,  John  D.  .    ' 

V. 
1864. — Veitch,  Margaret,  wife  of  Frederick. 

W. 

1860. — Wallace,  John. 

1855.— Warner,  Charles  H. 

1855.—  Sarah  M.,  wife  of  Charles  H, 

1853.— White,  Abby,  wife  of  John. 

1864. — Willoughby,  Caroline  S.,  wife  of  Alvin  L. 

1855.— AVi they,  Pascal. 

1855. —  Lucy,  wife  of  Pascal. 

1857.— Wright,  Margaret. 

1864.— Wright,  Robert  W. 

1«64. —  Sarah  Louisa,  wife  of  Robert  W. 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST.  31 

Y. 
1855. — Youngermaii,  George. 
1855. —  Emma  B.,  wife  of  George. 

Total  in  the  above  list  of  present  members,  15.3, — viz. 
41  males,  and  112  females.  Of  the  whole  number,  107 
were  received  on  profession  of  their  faith,  and  46  by  cer- 
tificate from  other  churches.  To  ascertain  whether  any 
particular  person  was  admitted  by  certificate  or  by  profes- 
sion, see  General  List  of  Members,  under  the  year  meu- 
tioned  at  the  beginning  of  the  name  concerning  which  the 
information  is  sought. 


PAST  MEMBERS. 


ALPHABETICAL    LIST 

Of  Pvrsoiis  icho  HAVE  BEEN  Members  of  the  South  Church,  hut  are  not 
not  so  January  1,  1865. 


Note.— The  fig:urcs  which  immediately  precede  the  name,  denote  the  year  of 
admission.  If  the  month  is  wanted,  see  General  List,  under  the  year  mentioned. 
The  day  of  the  month  can  be  ascertained  by  referring  to  an  A'manac,  as  no  persons 
iire  admitted  except  at  Communions,  and  these  are  always  held  on  the  first  Sabbath 
of  the  month. 

The  fig-ures  opposite  the  name,  on  the  right,  show  the  date  of  dismission  ;.  the 
middle  column,  the  mode  of  dismission,  or  place  of  removal,  or  both. 

The  letter  (ir)  immediately  before  the  date  of  dismission,  denotes  that  the  person 
so  designated  was  dismissed  by  ^e«e?c;  certificate;  the  letter  (1),  that  he  left  this 
Church  without  askiug  or  receiving  a  certificate  from  us. 

Those  removed  by  death,  are  marked  with  a  *  immediately  preceding  the  date  when 
they  ceased  to  be  members ;  those  by  discipline,  with  a  (d)  ;  those  without  any  letter 
or  mark  immediately  preceding  such  date,  were  dismissed  by  certificate  to  some  par- 
ticular church  or  churches. 


1855,  Adams,  Alexander, 

1855,  Ailing,  Augusta, 

1859,  Ailing,  Ira, 

1859,  Ailing,  Hannah, 

1858,  Ailing,  Waldemir  B. 

1853,  Armstrong,  P0II3', 

1853,  Augur,  Emily  B. 

1855,  Augur,  Horace  A. 

1855,  Fannie  E.,  wife  of  do. 

1852,  Barrett,  Thomas  E.,  Killed  in  battle,  *Dec.  13,  1862 

1852,  Jane  S.  Bunudl,  [w]  of  do.College  st.  ch.       Apr.  19, 1864 

1852,  Barrett,  [w]  Nancy  L.,  Ch.iuW.Killiugly,  Xov.25, 1863 

1853,  Barrett,  Henry  M.  Died,  *July  26,  1861 


Mar.  29,  1857 
Ch.in  W.  Haveu,  Apr.  30,  1861 
Died,  *Xov.  11,  1861 

Howe  St.  Ch.,        Mar.  11, 1862 
Died,  *Dec.  31,  1858 

Died,  *Jan.  1,  1859 

Jomed  Bapt.ch.  (1)  Mar.  26, 1854 
CoUege  St.  ch.      Dec.  16,  1863 
do.  Dec.  16,  1863 


34 


PAST  MEMBERS. 


1854, 

Barrett,  Oriy:eu  A. 

Died, 

*July  29,  1854 

1853, 

Beers,  Jauies  H., 

Pres.  ch.  Brooklyn,  July  2,  1856 

1854, 

Celia  Hall,  [w]  of  do. 

do. 

July  2,  185G 

1852, 

Beldeii,  E.  Porter, 

Pres.ch.SingSing,  Dec.  17,  1854 

1852, 

Eliza  A.,  wife  of  do. 

do.         dc 

).     Dec.  IT,  1854 

1855, 

Bsnce,  Thomas, 

Discipline, 

(d)  Jan.  10, 1862 

1855, 

Sarah,  wife  of  do. 

do 

(d)Jan.  10,1862 

1855, 

Benedict,  Lucy  Jane, 

College  St.  ch. 

June  2,  1861 

1855, 

Benhara,  Christiaua  Young,{Th..'il 

.)Died, 

*Nov.  5,  1859 

1853, 

BiU,  George  K, 

Exeter  ch.  Leb 

I'n,  June  22,  1858 

IS  54, 

Amelia  L.,  wife  of  do. 

Died, 

*Feb.,  1856 

1853, 

Blair,  Mary  E.  wife  of  Robert, 

College  St.  ch. 

April  19,  1864 

1853, 

Bradley,  George, 

do.     do. 

March  24, 1863 

1853, 

Lovisa,  wife  of  do. 

do.     do. 

March  24,  1863 

1855, 

Bristol,  Eliza  H., 

Third  ch.,     About  Feb.  2, 1858 

1858, 

Bunnell,  Mary  E., 

St.  Paul's  ch. 

Dec.  1,  1861 

1853, 

Burnett,  James  L., 

College  St.  ch. 

March  24, 1863 

1853, 

Juliette,  wife  of  do. 

do. 

March  24,  1863 

1858, 

Burnett,  James  II., 

do. 

March  3,  1863 

1859, 

Ellen  F.  Corey,  wife  of  do.     do. 

March  3,  1863 

1858, 

Burnett,  Preston  B., 

do. 

March  24,  1863 

1858, 

Burnett,  Laura, 

do. 

March  24,  1863 

1863, 

Burnett,  Theresa  E. 

do. 

March  24,  1863 

1852, 

Burwell,  Caroline  W. 

Third  ch., 

(1)  Nov.  22, 1864 

1852, 

Burwell,  Deacon  Benedict, 

Died, 

*April  14,  1863 

1852, 

Burwell,  Charles  B., 

Third  ch. 

Dec.  16,  1863 

1852, 

Harriet  A.,  wife  of  do 

do. 

Dec.  16,  186.". 

1858, 

Butricks,  Geo.  H., 

College  St.  ch. 

Feb.  5,  1864 

1858, 

Sophia,  wife  of  do. 

do. 

Feb.  5,  1864 

1855, 

,  Butricks,  Minot  A., 

do. 

(1)  Nov.  22,  1864 

1855, 

Charlotte  A.  Churchill,w\(c  of  do.  do. 

(1)  Nov.  22,  1864 

o. 

1854,  Cadwell,  Deborah,  (Johu  L.,) 
1863,  Carringtou,  Leicester, 
1863,  Emily,  wife  of  do, 

1852,  Chapman,  James  V.  R., 
1854,  Chapman,  Lewis, 


Ch.in  Woodljury,  Apr.  26, 1859 
College  St.  ch.  {\)  Nov.  22,  1864 

do.  (1)  Nov.  22,  1864 

Pr.  ch.  Rochester,  Jan.  17, 1860 

do  Jan. 17,  1860 


PAST  MEMBERS. 


.35 


1853,  Cbidsey,  Lydia  G., 

]  862,  Coe,  Edward, 

1 862,  Louisa  A.,  wife  of  do. 
1856,  Coggeshall,  James, 

1853,  Collinson,  Margaret, 

1863,  Comstock,  Lafayette  S., 
1863,  Hannah  M.,  wife  of  do, 

1854,  Crosby,  John, 
1852,  Currier,  Augusta  TV., 


Discipline,-  (d)  Dec.  20,  1861 
OoUege  St.  ch.  (1)  Nov.  22, 1864 

do.  (l)Nov.  22,  1864 

Died,  *April  24,  1857 

A  ch.  in  Canada,  1853 

Chapel  St.  ch.   (g)  Aug.  4, 1863 

do,  (g)  Aug.  4,  1863 

Died,  *Aug.  6,  1863 

College  St.  ch.  (g)  July  31,  1863 


D. 

1854,  Dailey,  Charles  E.,  Ch.  in  Was.  City,  Aug.  26,  1862 

1855,  Dailey,  Henry  C,  Ch.  in  Unionville,  Aug.  26, 1862 

1853,  Deming,  Laura  E.  Eussell.  wife  of  L.  P.  Deming,  (g)  Aug.  11, 1863 
]  862,  Dibble,  Edna  M.  Walker,  College  st.  ch.     March  8,  1864 

1854,  Douglass,  David,  Presb.  ch.  Rock  L    June,  1S55 

1855,  Dj-as,  Robert,  Chapel  st.ch.  (1)  Nov.  22, 1864 


E. 


1858,  Eddy,  Jennette, 

1855,  Edwards,  Ann,  wife  of  Wm. 


Dav.  Chapel,    (1)  Nov.  22,  1864 
March  29,  1857 


F. 


1855, 

Fowler,  [w]  Julia, 

Ch.  in  Guilford,     Oct.  26,  1858 

1855, 

Fowler,  Sarah, 

do.                  Oct.  26,  1858 

1857, 

Frisbie,  Rev.  A.  L., 

Ch.  in  Ansonia,          May,  1860 

G-. 

1867,* 

Gaskill,  Sarah  D.. 

Ch.  in  Norwich,     Jan.  3,  IS 61 

1857, 

Gaskill,  Laura  E., 

St.  Paul's               AprH  9,  1861 

1860, 

Garlock,  John  R., 

Geo.  St.  Me.  ch.  Aug.  12,  1862 

1860, 

Catharine  G. 

B.,  wife  of  do.      do.                Aug.  12,  1862 

1858, 

Ga3dord,  Elias, 

Ch.  in  Cheshire,    May  13,  1862 

1858, 

Mary  Ann, 

,  wife  of  do.           do.                 May  13,  1862 

1858, 

Gillette,  Edward, 

Davenp.  Chapel,    Oct.  22,  1862 

1858, 

Ann  F.,  wife  of  do.        Died,                   *July  23,  1862 

1862, 

L.A.^reree</(7nrf,2dwifedo.Davenp.  Chapel,  Oct.  28,  1862 

1858, 

Gillette,  Seth, 

do.            (1)  Nov.  22,  1864 

1858, 

Catharine,  wife  of  da.      Died,                   *Nov.  24.  1861 

36 


PAST  MEMBERS. 


H. 


1854, 
1854, 
1854, 
ISGO, 
1858, 
1861, 
1858, 
1853, 
1853, 
1852, 
1852, 
1853, 
1853, 
1852, 


Hall,  Merilla,  [w] 
Hall,  Louisa, 
HaU,  Marietta, 
Harrison,  Albert  R., 
Hazel,  Geo.  W., 


Ch.  in  Wallingford,  May  6, 1 856 

do.  May  6,  1856 

do.  May  6,  1856 

(g)  June  16,  1863 

Coll.  St.  ch.    (g)  July  31,  1863 


Juliette  C?<msr,  wife  of  do.         do.  (g)  July  31,  1863 

Hazel,  Wm.  Henry,  Howe  st.  ch.  Jan.  T,  1862 

Hine,  David  H.,  3d  Meth.  ch.         Feb.  19,  1856 

Susan  Cam«^toM,  wife  of  do.  do.  Feb.  19,  1856 

Hotchkiss,Mary,  [w]  Stephen.Sr.,  Died,  *April  16,  1856 

Hotchkiss,  Frank  B.,  Tliird  ch.  Oct.  26,  1858 

Hotchkiss,  Amelia,  Died,  *Oct.  5,  1853 

Hotchkiss,  Charles  A.,  Ch.  in  Wanbonsee,    Maj-,  1859 

Hubbard,  Harriet  J.,  (Wm.  M.,)   Died,  *Jan.,  1861 


1855,  Jeffries,  Ellen, 
1863,  Johnson,  Wilbur, 
1858,  Jones,  Catharine  C, 
1853,  Judson,  Henry, 


1854,  Knox,  Elizabeth,  [w] 


K. 


L. 


Pr.  ch.  Rochester,  Dec.  6, 1859 
Pr.ch.  Harford,  Pa.Feb.  5,  1864 
Third  ch.  (1)  1864 

Ch.  in  Bridgepo4,  Nov.  15, 1854 

(g)  Feb.  24,  1857 


1853, 
1857, 


1856, 
1858, 
1852, 
1853, 
1855, 
1855, 
1852, 
1855, 


Loomis,  C.  A.  Cadwell,  (Henry,)  Ch.  in  Woodbury,  Sept.  22,  1859 


Lord,  Lydia  M., 


(g)  June  24,  1862 


M. 


Cli.  in  Wallingf'd,  May  14, 1861 

College  St.  ch.,  1864 

Died,  *March  10,  1855 

Died,  *May  28,  1857 

Cli.  in  Westville,    Oct.  2,  1860 

Catharine  C,  wife  of  do.        do.  Oct.  2,  1860 

Merrow,  Mrs.  Mary  E.,  First  ch.F.Haven,  Oct.  28, 1856 

Merwin,  William,  •        Ch  in  Milford.      April  9,  1801 


McArthur,  Elizabeth  W., 
Macomber,  Cliarlotte, 
Mason,  Grace  G.  [w] 
Martin,  Isaac, 
Merchant,  Harvey, 


PAST  MEMBERS.  37 


1855, 

Mei-win,  Lucy,  wife  of  Wm. 

Ch.  in  Milford,     April  9, 

1861 

1855, 

Merwiu,  Emily  0., 

do. 

April  9, 

1861 

1855, 

Merwiii,  Mary  E., 

do. 

April  9, 

1861 

1854, 

Mills,  Lewis  M., 

Ch.  in  Clinton,     April  26, 

1859 

1854, 

Charlotte  I.,  wi 

fe  of  do. 

do. 

Jan.  18, 

1859 

1855, 

Mills,  Maria  Louisa, 

do. 

Jan.  18, 

1859 

1852, 

Minor,  Dea.  Eastman 

S., 

Coll.  St.  ch. 

(g)  J>'iy  31, 

1863 

1852, 

Judith  M.,  wife  of  do. 

do. 

(g)  J"iy3i, 

1863 

1852, 

Minor,  George  S. 

do. 

(g)  July  31, 

1863 

1854, 

Minor,  Lucy  B., 

Died, 

*Sept.  28, 

1857 

1861, 

Minor,  Thomas  T., 

Coll.  St.  ch. 

(g)  July  31, 

1863 

1863, 

Minor,  Jennie  E., 

do. 

(g)  July  31, 

1863 

1863, 

Minor,  Emma  Jane, 

(g)  Aug.  4, 

1863 

1857, 

Munson,  Maria  K., 

Ch.  in  W.  Haven,    May  7, 

1801 

1858, 

Morris,  Fidelia  Taylw 

(Theodore 

)  Ch.  in  S.Canaan,    Oct.  28, 

1862 

1858, 

Moffat,  Catharine, 

Coll.  St.  ch. 

(1)  Xov.  22 

1864 

1860, 

Moffat,  Margaret, 

do. 

(1)  Nov.  22, 

1864 

1863, 

Moffat,  Sarah, 

do. 

(1)  Xov.  22, 

1864 

1863, 

Moffat,  Andrew  B., 

do. 

(1)  Nov.  22, 

1864 

1863, 

Moffat,  Mary, 

do. 

(1)  Nov.  22, 

1864 

1803, 

Moore,  Gilbert  F., 

do. 

(1)  Nov.  22, 

1864 

1853,  Nettleton,  Geo.  W.,  Howe  st.  ch.  March  11,  1862 
1853  Charlotte,  wife  of  do.  do.  March  11,  1862 
1856,  Nicoll,  John,  College  st.  ch.  (g)  Aug.  4,  1863 
1856,              Cornelia  C,  wife  of  do.             do.           (g)  Aug.  4,  1863 

1854,  Noyes,  Agues,  (Eev.  G.  W., )  F.  Haven,  2d,  (g)  June  11,  1861 

P. 

1854,  Pliillips,  Charles,  Died,  *Oct.  IS,  1861 

1854,  Patty,  wife  of  do.  Howe  st.  ch.      March  11,  1862 

1855,  Picket,  Rufus  S.,  College  st.  ch.  March  17,  1863 
1855,  Catharine,  wife  of  do.  do.  March  17,  1863 
1859,  Pierson,  Lydia,  (John.)  (g)  Sept.  1861 
1854,  Pomeroy,  Elizabeth,  (Chas.  B.)  Ch.inWebster,Mass.  Nov.,  1854 
1854,  Pond,  Chester  E.,  Kansas,  (g)  March  18,  1856 
1854,            Mary  Scott,  wife  of  do.            do.            (g)  March  18, 1856 

4 


38 


PAST  MEMBERS. 


1852,  Porter,  Wm.  S., 

1852,  Jane  B..  wife  of  do. 

1853,  Porter,  Clarissa  C, 


College  St.  ch. 

April  1,  1856 

do. 

April  1,  1856 

do. 

Nov.  1854 

1855 
1855 
1855 
1856. 
1860 
1860, 
185t 
1857 
1853 
1857 
1857 
1852 
1852 
18G3 
1860 
1858; 
1858, 
1856, 
1856, 
1856 
185  a 
1853 
1853 
1860 
1855 
1856 


s. 

Scobie,  [w]  Jane  L., 
Scobie,  Wm.  C, 

Amelia,  wife  of  do. 
Scofield,  John  W., 
Scofield,  Eli  H., 

Jane,  wife  of  do. 
Scranton,  Wm.  E., 

Sarah  E  ,  wife  of  do. 
Severance,  [w]  Mary, 
Shumway,  Charles  M., 

Mary  J.,  wife  of  do. 
Smith,  Amos, 

Maria,  wife  of  do. 
Smith,  Jos.  H., 

Hannah,  wife  of  do. 
Staples,  Ezra, 

Vesta,  wife  of  do. 
Steele,  James, 

Jessie,  wife  of  do. 
Stetson,  John,  Pr. 

Harriet,  wife  of  do. 
Stewart,  Henry  L., 

SSrah  E..  wife  of  do. 
Stowe,  Mary  M., 
Stuart,  Mary, 
Street,  Susan  J., 


Died,  *Nov.  1.  1856 

College  St.  ch.  (1)  Nov.  22,  1864 

do.  (1)  Nov.  22,  1864 

College  St.  ch.  Jan.  19,  1864 
Davenport  Chapel,  July  2,  1862 

do.  July  2,  1862 

Me.  ch.  Geo.  st.    Jan.  26,  1858 

do.  Jan.  26,  1858 

Ch.  in  Mass.,  1856 

(g)  Jan.  3,  1861 

(g)  Jan.  3,  1861 

College  St.  ch.  (l)Nov.  22,  1864 

do.     (1)  Nov.  22,  1864 

do.     (1)  Nov.  22,  1864 

do.  (1)  Nov.  22,  1864 
Ch.Farmi'gt'n,Me.,Dec.24,  1861 

do.  Dec.  24,  1861 

Discipline,      (d)  Jan.  21,  1863 

do.  (d)  Jan.  21,  1863 

ch.  Brooklyn,  )    M^.^ch  12,  1861. 

do.  ) 

Ep.  ch.  M.  Had.,(g)Aug.  1, 1860 
Died,  *June  20,  1855 

Ch  in  Milford,       May  14,  1861 
(g)  Aug.  26,1856 
Third  ch.,  Feb.  2,  1858 


1854,  Thomas,  Sarah  M.  (Ransom  H.)  Ch.  in  Wcstville,  1864 

1853,  Thomas,  Evan,  North  Church,  Dec.  1853 

1853,  Jane,  wife  of  do.  do.  Dec.  1853 

1853,  Thompson  [w]  Harriet  S ,  Howe  st.  eh.,      Nov.  19,  1857 


PAST  MEMBERS.  39 

185:5,  Terrill,  Jano  S.  Price,  Cli.  in  Hamden,     May  3,  1864 

3856,  Tyrrell,  [w]  Arabella,  Cliurch  in  Canada,   Aug.,  1864 

IT. 

1858,  Umbcrfield,  Louisa  B.  Tuitle,  (Dennis,)  Chapel  st.  ch.  Oct.  28, 1862 
1862,  Upson,  Rev.  Henry,  Ch.  N.  Preston,   Feb.  12,  1864 

^W. 

1860,  Walker,  Plenrietta  E.,  College  st.  ch.     April  26,  1864 

1852,  Ward,  Mrs.  Mary,  (John,)  1861 

1854,  Ward,  Mary  M.,  wife  of  Charles,  Chapel  st.  church,  1860 

1862,  Ward,  Mary  E.,  (Capt.  F.  S.,)     College  st.  ch.  (g)  July  31,  1863 
1860,  Williams,  Abby  S.,  Con.  ch.  Newark,  May  28,  1861 

1860,  Williams,  Polly,  do.  May  28,  1861 

1854,  Wilkinson,  John,  Coll.  st.  ch.    (1)  Nov.  22,  1864 

1854,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  do.         do.  (1)  Nov.  22,  1864 

1854,  Wilson,  Julia  V.  Phelps,  (Jo.  W.)  Ch.  inNorwalk,  AprU  23,  1861 
1858,  Woodruff,  Polly,  College  st.  ch.        May  2,  1863 

1858,  Woodruff,  Martha  B.  do  May  2,  1863 

1858,  Woodruff,  Mary  T.,  do.  May  2,  1863 

1852,  Wriglit,  Sar.  M.  IltMard,  (W.A.)  Fair  Haven  2dch.  Apr.  30, 1856 


1857,  Young,  Reugeno  L.,  Chapel  st.  ch.       Dec.  16,  1862 

1858,  Young,  Lucy  P.,  (g)  Dec.  16,  1862 


40  PAST  MEMBERS. 

RECAPITULATION. 

Number  of  names  in  tlie  foregoing  list  of  ex- 
members,  - 195 

Males, 72 

Females, -__ _-123 

Of  the  whole  number,  (195,)  eighty-seven  were 
admitted  by  profession,  and  one  hundred  and 
seven  by  certificate.  Of  the  same  whole  num- 
ber, there  were  dismissed  by  certificate  from 

this  to  other  churches, 116 

By  general  letter,  (g) __     26 

By  discipline,  (d) —       5 

By  death,  (*) 22 

Joined  other  churches,  without  asking  or  receiv- 
ing certificates  of  dismission  from  us,  (1) 26 

Total,  as  above,  195 

Of  the  26  thus  (1)  separated  from  us,  it  is  under- 
stood that  25  received  a  certificate  from  the  Scribe  of 
the  late  Ex-parte  Council,  Kev.  Mr.  Eustis,  and  that 
on  the  strength  of  that  certificate,  they  have  been 
admitted  to  other  churches,  as  specified  in  the  above 
list.  Most  of  them  were  admitted  to  the  College 
Street  Church,  August  7,  1864.  In  regard  to  these 
25  persons,  the  following  preamble  and  resolution 
were  unanimously  adopted  at  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  South  Church,  November  22,  1864  :— 


PAST    MEMBERS.  41 

"  AVhereas,  we  are  credibly  informed  that  Amos  Smith,  and 
Maria,  his  wife,  Edward  Coe,  and  Louisa  A.,  his  wife, 
Leicester  Carrington,  and  Emily,  his  wife,  Miuot  A.  Bnt- 
ricks,  and  Charlotte  A.,  his  wife,  Joseph  II.  Smith,  and 
Plannah,  his  wife,  William  C.  Scobie,  and  Amelia,  his 
wife,  John  "Wilkinson,  and  Elizabeth,  his  wiiv,  Andrew 
li,  Moffat;  Marsxaret,  Catharine,  Mary  and  Sarah  jMof- 
fat;  Gilbert  F.  Moore,  Jennette  Eddy,  Catharine  C. 
Jones,  Caroline  W.  Bm-well,  Eobert  Dyas,  and  Seth  Gil- 
lette, whose  names  stand  on  our  books  as  members  of 
this  Church,  have  united  with  other  churches,  without 
asking  letters  of  dismission  from  us,  as  was  required  l)y 
one  of  our  Standing  Rules,  to  which  they  were  parties, 

"Resolved,  That  notwithstanding  the  irregularity  of 
their  course  in  this  particular,  we  accept  it  as  at  least  an 
expression  of  their  desire  to  be  released  from  their  conuec- 
tion  with  this  Church,  and  that  accordingly  our  Clerk  be 
directed  to  enter  their  names  on  our  Records  as  dismissed 
memhers  from  this  date,  (November  22,  1864,)  in  the  same 
sense  as  if  they  had  asked  and  received  from  us  letters  of 
dismission  and  recommendation,  in  the  usual  form." 


DISMISSIONS  IN  EACH  YEAR, 


AND    NAMES    OF    THE    DISMISSED. 


Note.— Deceased  Members  marked  with  a  *.    Those  who  have  died  since  their  dis- 
mission, are  not  ijiarkfd  witli  a  *. 


1852. 
None. 

1853. 

Margaret  Collinsoii,  i 

Amelia  Hotclikiss,* 
Evan  Thomas, 
Jane  (Evan)  Thomas. 

1854. 
E.  Torter  Belden, 
Eliza  (E.  P.)  Belden, 
Origeu  A.  Barrett,* 
Emily  B.  Augur, 
Henry  Judson, 
Clarissa  0.  Porter, 
Elizabeth  (Chas.  B.)  T'omeroy. 

1855. 
David  Douglass, 
John  H.  Leeds, 
Frances  A.  Hhic  (.T.  H.)  Tweeds. 
Grace  G.  Mason,* 
Sarah  E.  Stewart.* 

1856. 
James  H,  Beers, 
Celia  Hall  (J.  TT.)  Beers. 


L.  Amelia  (Geo.  R.)  Bill,* 

Marilla  [w]  Hall, 

Louisa  Hall, 

Marietta  Hall, 

David  H.  Hine, 

Susan  Carringto7i  (D.H.)  Hine, 

Mary  (Stephen, Sr.)Hotchkiss,* 

Wm.  S.  Porter, 

Jane  B.  (Wm.  S.)  Porter, 

Chester  E.  Pond, 

Mary  Scott  (Chester  E.)  Pond, 

Mary  [w]  Severance, 

Mrs.  Mary  Yn  Merrow, 

Amos  Smith, 

Mary  L.  Stewart, 

Jane  L.  [w]  Scobie,* 

Sarah  M.  Ilnhhard  Wright. 

1857. 

Alexander  Adams, 
James  Coggeshall,* 
Ann  Edwards, 
Isaac  Martin,* 
Lucy  B.  Minor,* 
Harriet  S.  [w]  Thompson. 
,  Elizalicth  Knnx-. 


44 


DISMISSIONS    IN    EACH    YEAR. 


1858. 

"Waldemir  B.  Ailing,* 

Thomas  E.  Barrett, 

Jane  S.  (Thos.  E.)  Barrett, 

George  E.  Bill, 

Julia  Fowler, 

Sarah  Fowler, 

Frank  E.  Hotchkiss, 

Wm.  E.  Scrantou, 

Sarali  E.  (Wm.  E.)  Scranton, 

Eliza  H.  Bristol, 

Arabella  [wj  Tyrrell, 

Susan  J.  Street. 

1859. 
Polly  AiTastrong,* 
Clu'istiaua  Young  (T.  H.)  Ben- 
ham,* 
Charlotte  A.  Cailwell, 
Deborah  Cadwell, 
Charles  A.  Hotchldss, 
Ellen  Jeffi'ies, 
Lewis  M.  Mills, 
Charlotte  I.  (Lewis  M.)  Mills, 
Maria  L.  :\rills, 
Charles  F.  Hotchkiss, 
Olivia  E.  (Chas.F.)  Hotchkiss. 

1860. 
James  V.  R.  Chapman, 
Lewis  Chapman, 
Rev.  A.  L.  Frisbie, 
Harvey  ^Merchant, 
Catliarinc   C.    (Harvey)    ^Fcr- 
rliant. 


Mary  M.  (Charles)  Ward, 
Heniy  L.  Stewart, 
Josephine  B.  Clark, 

186L 

Augusta  Ailing, 

Ira  Ailing,* 

Henry  M.  Barrett,* 

Lucy  Jane  Benedict, 

Mary  E.  Bunnell, 

Lydia  G.  Chidsey, 

Sarah  D.  Gaskill, 

Laura  E.  Gaskill, 

Catharine  (Seth)  Gillette,=^ 

George  W.  Hazel, 

Juliette  Currier  (George  W.) 
Hazel, 

Harriet  J.  (Wm.  ^l.)  Hub- 
bard,* 

Eliz.  W.  McArthur, 

Wm.  Merwin, 

Lucy  (Wm.)  Merwin, 

Emily  0.  Merwin, 

Mary  E.  Merwin, 

Maria  K.  Munson, 

Agnes  W.  Xoyes, 

Charles  Phillips,* 

Lydia  (John)  Pierson, 

Charles  M.  Shumway, 

Mary  J.  (Chas.  M.)  Shumway, 

Ezra  Staples, 

Vesta  (Ezra)  Staples, 

John  Stetson, 

Harriet  (John)  Stetson, 


DISMISSIONS  IN  EACH  YEAR. 


45 


Mary  M.  Stowe, 
Mary  (John)  Ward, 
Abby  S.  Williams, 
Polly  Williams, 
Julia  V.  Phelps  Wilson. 

1862. 

Hannah  Ailing,  March  11. 

John  R.  Garlock,  Aug.  12. 

Catharine  G.  B.  (John  R.)  Gar- 
lock,  Aug.  12. 

Elias  Gay  lord,  May  13. 

Mary  Ann  (Elias)  Gaylord, 
May  13. 

Thomas  E.  Barrett,*  Dec.  13. 

Thomas  Bence,  Jan.  10. 

Sarah  (Thos.)  Bence,  Jan.  10. 

Charles  E.  Dailey,  Aug,  26. 

Henry  0.  Dailey,  Aug.  26. 

Wm.  Henry  Hazel,  January. 

Edward  Gillette,  Oct.  22. 

Ann  F.  (Edward)  Gillette,* 
July  23. 

Lucy  A.  Sweetla7id  (Edward) 
Gillette,  Oct.  28. 

Lydia  M.  Lord,  June  24. 

J^'idelia  Taylor  Morris,  Oct.  28. 

Geo.  W.  Nettleton,  March  11. 

Charlotte  (Geo.  W.)  Nettleton, 
BEarch  11. 

Patty  (Chas.)  Phillips, Mar.  11. 

Eli.  H.  Scofield,  July  2. 

Jane  (Eli  H.)  Scofield,  July  2. 


Louisa  B.   Tuttlc  Umberfield, 

Oct.  28. 
Reugene  L.  Young,  Dec.  16. 
Lucy  P.  Young,  Dec.  16. 

1863. 

Horace  A.  Augur, 

Fannie  E.  (Horace  A.)  Augur, 

Nancy  L.  Barrett, 

Geo.  Bradley, 

Lovisa  (Geo.)  Bradley, 

James  L.  Burnett, 

Juliette  (James  L.)  Burnett, 

James  H.  Burnett, 

Ellen  F.   Corey   (James  H.) 

Burnett, 
Preston  B.  Burnett, 
Laura  Burnett, 
Theresa  E.  Burnett, 
Dea.  Benedict  Burwell,* 
Charles  B.  Burwell, 
Harriet  A.  (Chas.  B.)  Burwell, 
Lafayette  S.  Comstock, 
Hannah  (Lafayette)  Comstock, 
John  Crosby,* 
Augusta  W.  Currier, 
Laura  E.  Russell  (L.  P.)  Dem- 

ing. 
Albert  R.  Harrison, 
Geo.  W.  Hazel, 
Juliette    Currier    (Geo.    W.) 

Hazel, 
Dea.  E.  S.  Minor, 


46 


DISMISSIONS  IN  EACH  YEAR. 


Judith  M.  (E.  S.)  Minor. 

George  S.  Minor, 

Thomas  T.  Minor, 

Jennie  E.  Minor, 

Emma  Jane  Minor, 

John  Nicoll, 

Cornelia  C.  (John)  Nicoll, 

Rufus  S.  Pickett, 

Catharine  (Eufus  S.)  Pickett, 

James  Steele, 

Jessie  (James)  Steele, 

Mary  E.  (Capt.  F.  S.)  Ward, 

Polly  Woodruff, 

Martha  E.  Woodruff, 

Mary  T.  Woodruff. 

1864. 

Jane  S.  Burwell  Barrett, 
Mary  E.  (Robert)  Blair, 
Caroline  W.  Burwell, 
Geo.  H.  Butricks, 
Sophia  (G.  H.)  Butricks, 
Minot  A.  Butricks, 
Charlotte  A.  (Minot)  Butricks, 
Leicester  Carrington, 
Emily  (Leicester)  Carrington, 
Edward  Coe, 
Louisa  A.  (Edward)  Coe, 
Edna  M.  Walker  Dibble, 


Robert  Dyas, 

Jenette  Eddy, 

Martha  J.  Hubbard,  Aug.  23. 

Seth  Gillette, 

Wilbur  Johnson, 

Catharine  C.  Jones, 

Charlotte  Macomber, 

Catharine  Moffat, 

Margaret  Moffat, 

Sarah  Moffat, 

Andrew  B.  Moffat, 

Mary  Moffat, 

Gilbert  Moore, 

Amos  Smith, 

Maria  (Amos)  Smith, 

Joseph  H.  Smith, 

Hannah  (Joseph  H.)  Smith, 

Sarah    Maria    (Ransom    H.) 

Thomas, 
Jane  S.  Price  Terrill, 
Rev.  Henry  Upson, 
Henrietta  E.  Walker, 
Wm,  C.  Scobie, 
Amelia  (Wm.  C.)  Scobie, 
John  Wilkinson. 
Elizabeth  (John)  Wilkinson, 
John  W.  Scofield, 
Arabella  (w)  Tyrrell. 


NUMEEICAL   EXHIBIT 

OP 

ADMISSIONS   AND    DISMISSIONS   IN   DIFFER- 
ENT YEARS. 

The  following  table  shows  the  total  number  of  admis- 
sions and  dismissions,  (including  deaths,)  in  each  calendar 
year,  since  the  organization  of  the  church  to  Jan.  1,  1865. 


Year.                      Admissions. 

Dismissions 

.    Gain. 

Loss. 

Whole  No.  at 
close  of  year. 

1852. 

37 

0 

37 

0 

37 

1853. 

47 

4 

43 

0 

80 

1854. 

32 

7 

25 

0 

105 

1855. 

54 

5 

49 

0 

154 

1856. 

23 

19 

4 

0 

158 

1857. 

16 

7 

9 

-0 

167 

1858. 

43 

12 

31 

0 

198 

1859. 

10 

11 

0 

1 

197 

1860. 

21 

8 

13 

0 

210 

1861. 

3 

32 

0 

20 

181 

1862. 

11 

24 

0 

13 

168 

1863. 

38 

39 

0 

1 

167 

1864. 

25 

39 

0 

14 

153 

Total  admissions, 

360 

207 

211 

58 

"    dismissions, 

207 

Loss 

!,  58 
153  net 

gain. 

Present  Members,  153 

The  number  of  admissions  (360)  is  twelve  greater  than 
the  number  of  j^ersons  admitted  (348).  The  reason  is,  that 
twelve  persons  have  been  admitted  twice ;  having,  at  some 
period  after  their  first  admission,  taken  certificates  to  other 
churches,  and  subsequently  re-united  with  this.  For  the 
same  reason  the  number  of  dismissioyis  is  twelve  greater 


48  ADMISSIONS  AND  DISMISSIONS. 

than  the  number  of  i^ersons  dismissed.  But  in  this  table, 
as  well  as  in  the  General  List,  it  is  necessary  to  follow 
these  changes,  in  order  to  show  the  gain  or  loss  of  members 
in  each  year,  and  the  number  remaining  at  the  close  of  each 
year.  In  the  Alphabetical  Lists  no  name  is  inserted  more 
than  once. 


Mr.  Carroll  commenced  his  labors  as  Stated  Supply  on 
the  1st  of  June,  1862.  During  the  31  months  which  have 
since  elapsed,  to  1st  of  January,  1865,  there  have  been 
admitted  into  this  church  by  profession  51  members,  by 
certificate  19,— total  70;  which  is  only  23  less  than  the 
number  of  dismissions  within  the  same  period,  including 
two  by  discipline  and  four  by  death.  Considering  the  ex- 
traordinary efforts  which  have  been  made  by  disaffected 
persons  within  our  own  church,  and  by  terrorism,  Ex-parte 
Councils,  and  other  appliances  without,  to  draw  or  di'ive 
away  our  members, — indeed  to  destroy  us  altogether, — W\q 
result  is  a  signal  triumph.  As  these  elements  of  mischief 
are  now  in  a  great  measure  exhausted,  it  is  reasonable  to 
anticipate,  from  this  time  forward,  with  the  blessing  of  Grod, 
a  rapid  increase  of  members,  proportionate  to  the  large 
increase  of  our  congregations.  It  is  also  worthy  of  remark 
that  our  net  loss  of  members  (23)  in  the  31  months  of  Mr. 
Carroll's  ministry  among  us,  is  eleven  less  than  our  net  loss 
(34)  during  the  seventeen  months  immediately  preceding. 
On  the  whole,  we  have  much  to  be  thankful  for  in  the  past, 
and  more  to  hope  for  in  the  future.  The  faithful  preaching 
of  the  Word,  which  the  South  Church  enjoys  in  an  eminent 
degree,  is  sure  to  yield  its  legitimate  fruits. 


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